Coming Toyota Supra to forgo hybrid, get a BMW six-cylinder turbo?

For years, almost all of the talk about the Toyota FT-1 concept becoming a resurrected Supra envisioned a hybrid under the hood. And then the latest take on Future Toyota 1 showed up at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show and - although Toyota wouldn't say a word about any engine at all - horizons began to expand. Imaginary fancies were aided by the news that Toyota had partnered with BMW to develop asports car on the next-generation BMW Z4 platform, which would necessarily mean an engine bay designed to accept an old-fashioned hunk of gas-burning iron-working solo.

Car and Driver now turns the whole thing around, reporting that there will be an inline-six with forced induction provided by BMW under the hood. What about that hybrid, though? The report states, "there's currently no indication that the Silk Road cars will offer hybrid options" - 'Silk Road' being the codename for the jointly-developed vehicles. CD makes a point to note that said tidbit came from Germany, not Japan. However, designers at Toyota's Calty studio did tell Automotive News last year that they designed the body with an inline-six in mind, a nod to the Supra's history.

Hybrid rumors aren't dead yet, though - remember, we were hearing about all-wheel drive and supercapacitors in May 2014. The coupe is predicted to be a 2018 model, making its appearance sometime in 2017, and be "about 10 percent" smaller than the FT-1 concept.

New Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 Could Get AWD, Supercapacitors

The next Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 could use the same hybrid drivetrain in the Yaris Hybrid-R, paired with supercapacitors and all-wheel drive. But whether it will be a six-figure supercar or something a little more attainable hasn’t been settled just yet.

Rumors have been circulating for years that Toyota and BMW are teaming up on a hybrid sports car, and with the reveal of the Toyota FT-1 Concept, the return of the Supra as a performance hybrid seems all but certain. The blurry details are starting to come into focus, and the picture they paint a very different vehicle from the classic Supra or Z4.

The new car will utilize an all-wheel drive system paired with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain similar to the one the Yaris Hybrid-R Concept, but with one key difference. Instead of a 1.6 liter Toyota gas engine, a BMW motor no bigger than 2.0 liters will be used alongside a pair of electric motors. Engineers are drawing from knowledge gained from the Toyota TS030, the hybrid Le Mans endurance racer that has been nipping at Audi’s heels for the past couple of years.

This is where the supercapacitors come in. Unlike lihtium-ion batteries, which more energy but also a lot longer longer to recharge and discharge, supercapacitors store a little bit of kinetic energy for a big (but brief) boost in power. They recharge with kinetic energy (mostly from braking) just as quickly as they discharge, making supercapacitors a better option than standard lithium-ion batteries. High-strength steel and aluminum will be used to keep weight down, further improving performance. With no hard numbers to pin down right now though, it’s hard to tell where in the supercar hierarchy the next Supra/Z4 will fall.

So where does this leave the in-demand BMW i8? Hard to say; the current BMW Z4 and BMW i8 are distinctly different vehicles, and the ‘i’ brand is being touted as somewhat separate (but not TOO separate) from the regular BMW lineup. While Toyota’s lineup is noticeably devoid of any high-end performance cars, is there room in the BMW lineup for another hybrid supercar?

I don’t see why not.

Source: AutoCar

The Toyota FT-1, A New Supra By Any Other Name

Toyota dropped a bright red, Supra-sized bomb onto the stage at this year’s Detroit Auto Show- immediately stealing the show from Ford’s big F-150 reveal and turning everyone’s focus to the next Tokyo Auto Salon and talk of a new Supra.

Toyota’s suits talked a lot about stepping away from the focus groups to create the new FT-1 concept and injecting “passion” into the rest of the Toyota lineup. While the idea of a Formula-nosed Camry confuses and terrifies me, however, the idea of a Lexus LF-A informed Corvette and Porsche fighter from the land of the rising sun makes me giddy in the pantaloons. Almost certainly packing a hybrid drivetrain, this new Toyota is a Supra for the 21st century, or at least it seems.

Toyota will release the FT-1′s full specs tomorrow via a download on Sony’s Gran Turismo 6, when the car will become available for download. Until then, you’ll have to settle for these pics of the new Supra from the showroom floor from young DeMorro. Enjoy!

Source:  Gas 2.