The C7 Corvette is a force to be reckoned with and provides plenty of performance and power in even base Stingray outfittings. Toyota has long teased a return to the sports car segment, and that means the upcoming Supra—if it’s called that—may be gunning for the Corvette.
The Toyota Supra has been spied once again and it’s likely packing a BMW-sourced gasoline engine and some sort of electric motor. It may not sound like a direct rival, but a reborn Supra would most likely play in a similar price bracket like various variants of C7 Corvette.
Though, as this Toyota sports car shapes up, it seems to be more BMW than Toyota. Spy shots show the interior with gauges, gear selector and more straight from BMW. In fact, it may not even arrive with a manual gearbox.
When a mid-engine Corvette does arrive—it’s the industry’s worst kept secret—it could leave the Chevrolet Camaro as a more formidable opponent, however. A mid-engine Corvette would certainly be more exotic than anything a Toyota and BMW sports car births. While the Camaro and Supra were never rivals in the past, that could change in the coming months.
Spy shots: Motor1
Comments
“Corvette killer”? Hyperbole much?
The more sports cars and coupe GT’s the better. No dog in this fight. I welcome them all.
You said it! Anything to ease the onslaught of these appliance-like, family-friendly CUVs and SUVs gobbling up all the market share!
The Supra is one of the most legendary sports cars to come out of Japan, and with BMW on the job, I’m more than excited about what the next model brings to the table!
I think I ha be safe I don’t it before. If the Supra looks worse than the concept form then it won’t sell. Look at what Toyota done with the 86/FRS. If we’re judging by how they’re going to do the styling like how they did with the Toyota GT86 then it’s going to be a tough sell. I’m pretty sure there will be fans buying it but again I think it’ll be a tough sell
Motor Trend Head-To-Head MX5RF vs 86, Cammisa:
“They’re selling every BRZ/86 they build…”
my dealer still have 5 on their lot and it’s been sitting there for a month or two
They are in redesign mode now because of under performing sales in America.
But the big wing and bigger brakes will not be enough. It needs more power.
Even the BRZ is getting a STI… just not sure if they’re going to up the power
They are giving it a big wing and bigger brakes but still not enough power.
It doesnt need anymore power. It’s a classic case of a car designed for one demograhic, being embraced and probably ruined by another, all the while the latter is making demands that will ruin the car for everyone. Nevermind that the second demographic isn’t actually buying the car in the first place.
No one complains about the MX5’s power out put. Yet it is the philosophical twin of the Toyburu twins.
What the tuner crowd needs to do is get busy tuning an excellent driving, affordable car and stop begging Toyota and Subaru to ruin it.
I complain about the mx5 output, that’s why I’ll buy a used solestic gap before ever getting a Miata
That would be why the 124 spyder have more power than the miata despite of being the same car with different badge
Well said, and I completely agree with you, except… Miata’s have been dissed for years as having to little power and being a grrl’s car, so your comment applies here also…”Nevermind that the second demographic isn’t actually buying the car in the first place.” But they sure feel like their opinion matters.
Both the MX-5 and the GT86/BRZ are unique and special, and we are lucky to have them.
I was on GM’s consumer input panel when they were developing the Sky/Solstice. I intended to buy the Sky when it was finally available. When It was, I was invited by GM to drive the car and comment.
I drove an NA Miata to the dealership and after driving the Sky, I got back in my Miata and was immediately aware of the contrasting differences in the two. The Sky, unfortunately, was quite inferior to the handling and feel of the 15 year old MX5. And that top, what were they thinking? Sky/Solstice… Neat cars for boulevard driving on sunny days.
Bought my son a Sky Redline just before sending him off to college. We added a tune delivering 300+ HP and 300+ ftlb with no other changes. Very solid, fun car that has had no problems for the past 4 years. He loves it. I like the 29 mpg. 🙂
The 2.0L-LNF engine is a great unit. I have been trying to locate one(drive train) to put in an MX-5.
The loss of 7-800-pds over the Sky/Solstice and 290-Hp and a P/W of 1/8 would make a Miata jump out real good and you would still have that great MX5 feel and balance.
All cars feel differently. Car and driver gave top marks to the sky and solistic for handling. In fact the main complaint they had was the gearbox was tuned to the 2.4l engine and had to shift from 1st to 2nd on the 0-60, which isn’t nessecary in the gxp given its torque. Great car considering a year from conception to sales. Too bad they never saw a gen 2 with a weight reduction and facelift
Reg; “All cars feel differently.” _ Yes, they do, and in that difference you will ‘feel’ mediocrity to greatness.
The difference in the S&S twins vs the MX5 was a significant 700-plus pounds. big heavy wheels and tires with the suspension providing poor damping and control. Tires felt like big rubber goobers bouncing slightly to significantly out of control depending on road conditions and attitude of the car. Slip angles were high and should have been with the size of the tires which were determined for a look rather then optimal handling. I view the cars as styling exercises not really sports cars of a significant caliber.
Had Opel been charged with developing the cars dynamics, we would have had much different cars. Opel has long been noted for putting fun in their cars with the emphasis on handling. The idea/concept for the cars, originated with Opel.
Never drove a Red Line version, so maybe the handling was slightly improved.
The new GM would build a significantly better Sky and Solstice today.
Car & Driver…Did anyone else? We used to think of C&D as corporate whores, say anything for rides, perks, and sales. They were chastised and dismissed enough in the past, that maybe they are better today.
I test drove both the Toyota 86 and Mazda mx-5 in manual trans but they were both slow and had no more juice beyond 75mph.
So I bought a new 2017 Corvette with manual trans.
I remember them saying that and was like “da hell!?!?”
If by selling every one they can build means; ‘we’ve dialed back production and only sell this car as a extreemly limited model designed to decorate dealer lots’, then yeah sure, the BRZ & GT86 are sales monsters!
I think I have said it before. If the Supra looks worse than the concept form then it won’t sell. Look at what Toyota done with the 86/FRS. If we’re judging by how they’re going to do the styling like how they did with the Toyota GT86 then it’s going to be a tough sell. I’m pretty sure there will be fans buying it but again I think it’ll be a tough sell
Agreed. If the spyshots of it at Nurburgring are any indication of the overal shape and design of the car, it’ definately not a “looker”.
More of a bigger faster version of the uglier, restyled GT86.
BUT, lets not foget, the Supra was never really a looker in any of it’s iterations. Alot of it’s famous beauty was due more to aftermarket enhanments than the factory body lines. It’s paternal chassis twin, the Soarer or SC300/400 was more blessed in the visual appeal department.
Ugly
Chevrolet is world class in sports economy and quality. Corvette vs 911, camero vs GTR, they always win when it comes to the price tag. A 100k corvette shouldn’t hold a torch to the 200k 911’s, but they do, and a 70k z28 should beat a 130k gtr, but they do. If the Lexus FLA is any indication, the next gen Supra will be fast, but asking way to much for any true sales.
LFA* but then I don’t think there’s going to be a new LFA
Let’s not forget to look at the mileage figures as well..My 2006, stock, LS2 motor, Z-51 suspension with mag ride, automatic, C6 Base Coupe, gets 34 – 37 mpg, depending on freeway or mountain roads. (Any guess which roads I prefer?!!)
The few times I have driven fast (170 mph plus, for a sustained drive (150 miles) My mileage only dropped to 29 mpg. Not a bad economy car, as well as a great, All American, sports car! 🙂
Well sports cars generally have short lives unless they are dreamed a heritage legend status.
The Corvette, 911 and to some extent the Miata due to good marketing have reached this level. Others like Supra, RX, Z and MR all have come and gone in short runs.
Shelf life of the cars is limited as they make little money in many cases and the lack of changes let them rot.
It is rare any sorts car of higher volume achieves the legend heritage status. Some only reach it years after they leave production.
The Asian makers have for years tried to make a better Harley. Mechanically they have but the image is something you can not design. Image is something that is earned under the right circumstances and time. Few ever reach this status even less at the Corvette price and less.
Let’s face it Acura made a better Ferrari at the time the NSX came out but it was still not a Ferrai.
Then cars like the FLA make news when thy come out but I have seen more Bugatti’s than FL A models on the road.
He buying a sports car image to stroke ego is very important. Sure you can go 0-200 in so many seconds but very few ever test it.
No rolling up to Firestone country club for a round of Golf and some buisness adds to your image and success. Trust me I drive by there daily and do you tpreally needs to drive a Ferrari to play 18? No but it helps if you are trying to make a buisness deal or impress buddies.
Hennessey Performance has done a blue print of what direction Chevrolet can go.. as they can use a larger supercharger to create a 900-1,000 hp 6.2L V8 or possibly a twin-turbo setup for over 1,000 hp; then again, Chevrolet can borrow suspension technology from their C6.R program to build a Z06 with an even better suspension setup to make use of the 650 hp even better.
The 6.2L still has a lot of development potential left in it, but I think the 5.5L DOHC engine will surpass in a very short space of time what the 6.2L does currently.
I doubt it, displacement proves to help in power, and the extra stroke of a bigger engine helps in efficiency as we see with the 5.3vs ecoboost. The 6.2 will endure for a while. The 5.5 would lack low end torque, which is the thing that helps the corvette most, having power from 3000rpm to 6000 and not just from 4500 to 6000 like most smaller displacement dohc
Corvette’s 6.2L is pushrod which allows the hood to be low to look better like a Ferrari.
In contrast, the Toyota will probably be a DOHC engine which means it’s taller and that means that the hood will not be low and the center of gravity is higher… both bad attributes.
Every time we see the results of these rumors about a new hot Toyota sports car, we see just another “Gentleman’s quick coupe” or facsimile. There is much more to going head to head with Corvette than a BMW engine and a (trick?) Automatic Tranny. I know it wasn’t long ago that Toyoda told his engineers that he wanted to see more excitement in cars with Toyota badges, but even if you are Toyota, you don’t just wake up one morning and build a successful challenger to Corvette. Roadside ditches are full of past attempts to dethrone the American King of value performance.
“Roadside ditches are full of past attempts to dethrone the American King of value performance.”
Where have you been in the last 15 years to think that the Corvette represents ‘value performance’?
Where have YOU been to believe otherwise? Do you even read car magazines? What do you think is a better high performance value? Please don’t say miata or the other 200HP twins because those are NOT high performance, they are toys, not HIGH performance sports cars. Don’t say Porsche because even the Boxster (great car but NOT a “value”) is more expensive than the vette and only exceeds in handling. Don’t say Mustang 😀 😀 😀 because well…. “Mustang,” Pony car, that doesn’t come close to High Performance unless you pay more than the base vette that still out handles it. Seems to me, you have been in some kind of dream world, or nightmare for 15 years. Wake up and go drive a vette.
Obviously a rice rocket fan, but..Let me ask this and try to answer honestly. Where can you spend $45,000 for a new vehicle, that will do 185-190 mph, turn a 100 mph 1/4, and still get 28 MPG plus? Where I come from that is value performance.
Or..
And add another 20 thousand and get 220 mph and 115 mph 1/4’s and *still* get 28 mpg +
Or
Spend $160k, and get a track ready car to go SCCA racing or any FIA event…with no modifications to the car. Mileage might suffer a bit, but what the heck, who cares about mileage when you are doing 250 mph in the production classes.
Yup..That’s value performance to me.
TOK
Yep. Corvette has always been the best high performance sports car value. That’s exactly why everyone, like Toyota here, tries to compare themselves to Corvette…or car magazines compare them to Corvette to determine what they did wrong.
Yep. Corvette has always been the best high performance sports car value. That’s exactly why everyone, like Toyota here, tries to compare themselves to Corvette…or car magazines compare them to Corvette to determine what they did wrong. BTW, TOK, I got 28.5 MPG from picking my C6 up at Bowling Green to Vegas … and that was with my 17-year-old son and luggage and varying RPM at 60-75 MPH for the first 500 miles.
I was going to wait for the 2018 Toyota Supra but then I bought a new 2017 Corvette with manual trans and performance exhaust.
Why?
Corvette is more powerful hp and torque starts early at 1500rpm you get 350lbs torque, aluminum frame/carbon/composite/magnesium materials, removable targa top, looks like a Ferrari.
Seeing how Toyota’s CHR concept car to reality looked terrible, I see that the front of the Supra going through the same. Supra’s headlights are horizontal so that does not look like a supercar like Lambo or Ferrari. If the exhaust sounds like the Lexus RC-F, it’s timid compared to the Corvette.
Corvette has an aura of being a man’s car verus Lexus/Toyota.
I was going to wait for the 2018 Toyota Supra but then I bought a new 2017 Corvette with manual trans and performance exhaust.
Why?
Corvette is more powerful hp and torque starts early at 1500rpm you get 350lbs torque, aluminum frame/carbon/composite/magnesium materials, removable targa top, looks like a Ferrari.
Seeing how Toyota’s CHR concept car to reality looked terrible, I see that the front of the Supra going through the same. Supra’s headlights are horizontal so that does not look like a supercar like Lambo or Ferrari. If the exhaust sounds like the Lexus RC-F, it’s timid compared to the Corvette.
Corvette has an aura of being a man’s car versus Lexus/Toyota.