GR86

Make
Toyota
Segment
Coupe

Several weeks ago Toyota and BMW signed an agreement to share hybrid technologies and to collaborate on a new platform that would see each automaker get at least one new sports car. This immediately set off speculation that Toyota was finally building a new Supra, and according to a fresh report from Motor Trend, this is indeed the case. But there's a bit of a twist. As it turns out, this may not be an all-new platform but a revised version of the platform that underpins the GT-86 (known on these shores as the Scion FR-S).

It may also underpin the next-generation BMW Z4. In other words, that rear-drive platform could serve as the basis for both cars, although they will be quite different from one another. The Supra is rumored to be powered by a 2.5-liter inline-four hybrid engine that will produce up to 400 horsepower but a 3.5-liter V6 hybrid also hasn't been ruled out. A production version could be on the market by 2017 and we may even see a concept as early as this year's Tokyo Motor Show. Inside sources told MT that the Supra will be larger than the GT-86 and its design will be inspired by the FT-HS hybrid concept first shown at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show.

Meanwhile, BMW is supposedly working on its next Z4 with a "beefed up version of the GT-86 platform." The German automaker is reportedly testing a V6 hybrid powertrain of its own that will offer similar power to that of the new Supra, but with a decidedly more Teutonic flavor. But whichever form it takes, a new rear-drive sportscar developed by some of the biggest names in the business promises to be a good thing indeed.