It has been eerily quiet about the next-generation Supra. The current generation, co-developed with BMW and built in Austria, uses pretty much BMW’s powertrains; however, they were co-developed with Toyota.

It looks like we’re finally getting concrete information from Japan on this next-generation Supra. Toyota is not scrapping the Supra – in fact, they might be scrapping BMW, and it’s looking pretty certain at this point. Grab your snacks, drinks and buckle in if you’re excited for the next Supra which is now 99% sure to be fully Toyota. Smash the heck out of that!

Alright, bringing you the latest scoop from Best Car magazine. They are the most reliable source for upcoming Japanese car news – they nailed the GR Corolla, the Land Cruiser, the Prius for example, they got the Crown really, really close, and now we have the latest information on the Supra.

Now, let’s take a look at the renders. Here are illustrations of this new car and they’re saying it’s going to be close to this. Again, take it with a grain of salt – they said the proportions are about the same as the current Supra. They seem to be pretty, pretty certain here about certain design elements. They said they might not have the whole car down but they’re very sure about certain aspects of the design. Which aspects of the design? I’m not quite sure but they say it’s still going to be a two seater not a 2+2.

However, Toyota’s Lexus division is going to make their own variant of this vehicle in theory and they might try to add two rows of seats making it a 2+2 configuration. We’ll talk more about the Lexus variant of this in a little bit.

Do you guys like the new design of this Supra? I do, however, we still have a lot of vents, maybe they’re functional this time around. These vents here, on the side in front of the rear wheel, make the rear of the vehicle look very unfinished to me. This almost looks BMW-ish to me in some ways. I see the BMW IX a lot here where I live, so it kind of looks BMW-ish to me.

Let’s get into the translations. We’ve had so much conflicting information and they pretty much sum up the conflicting info over the past few years. Due to emissions regulations worldwide, there’s been talk that the Supra would be hybrid, then fully battery electric, then hybrid again. They’ve been flip-flopping for years. Are they going to use BMW? Yes, they’re going to use BMW. Now, it’s about as concrete as possible that they are not using BMW for this Supra. Without BMW, they cannot use the four-cylinder Supra they recently killed off or the godlike B58 inline-six engine. Toyota will have to use their own engines. They remind us of the “multi-pathway” workshop where they showcased two brand new engines: a 1.5 liter that can be turbo or naturally aspirated and a 2.0 liter that seems to always be turbocharged. This engine will be a showcase in the Supra but they’re hybridizing it and came out with a little diagram here.

Alright, let’s look at this diagram. We have the gasoline engine, and look – it’s behind the axle making this technically a front mid-engine vehicle. There’s going to be an automatic transmission, either 8-speed or 10-speed. I would guess 8-speed because the 10-speeds are usually in larger Toyota vehicles. Maybe they have a way to convert the 8-speed automatic in the GR, like the new GR Corolla, from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive. It’s unlikely but possible. I’m going with an 8-speed auto over a 10-speed. And then we have a carbon fiber propeller shaft and possibly a carbon fiber transmission case with a hybrid motor in the back. This hybrid motor in the back will shift the weight backward helping balance the vehicle.

This hybrid motor placement is unique for Toyota. Unlike the Tundra i-FORCE MAX or LX 700h where the hybrid motor sits between the engine and transmission, this one is near the rear differential. Just because it’s not on this diagram doesn’t mean there won’t be a motor generator between the engine and transmission as in the LX 700h and i-FORCE MAX. I’d expect an electric motor there, but this rear placement is unlike anything we’ve seen in a Toyota hybrid. If the rear motor adds 50 horsepower we’re looking at a total output of around 500 horsepower, though the rear motor alone could contribute up to 50 horsepower.

The hybrid battery will be under the trunk floor which is great – more weight over the rear wheels. But notice that the battery’s center of weight is in front of the rear axle, so they’re centralizing the weight as much as possible. They also mention the vehicle can run on the hybrid motor alone though it’s a plug-in hybrid similar to Toyota’s current hybrids. The Tundra i-FORCE MAX can run on electric alone for coasting and slowing down. However, the Supra will have very limited time periods where it runs solely on hybrid power.

The engine should be tuned to 400 PS (just under 400 horsepower) and 500 Newton meters (about 368 lb-ft of torque), as they’ll have two specs of this engine. The higher spec will be in the Supra, while a lower spec, at around 300 horsepower, could replace the 2.4-liter turbos in models like the RX, NX and possibly even the Highlander (though the Highlander might go fully electric). The lower tune will likely be for most Lexus models with the higher tune in performance Lexus and Toyota models. With the hybrid motor’s additional 100 horsepower we’re nearing 500 total horsepower for the Supra. The hybrid torque output might reach 600 lb-ft. The Supra could be released in 2026 but that feels optimistic – maybe 2027 or 2028 is more likely.

When it comes to Lexus, they might create a variant to replace the LC or RC, akin to the original SC300/SC400, essentially the Lexus version of the Mark IV Supra. Originally Lexus was considering a V6 hybrid but now it’s likely they’ll use the same 2.0-liter inline-four tuned to 400 horsepower. An RC 300 with 300 horsepower or an RC 400 could be likely. I think they should go back to the SC nameplate since the first SC shared a platform with the Supra.

Meanwhile, Toyota isn’t stopping with the Supra. They’re planning a next-gen GRMN Yaris and possibly a GRMN Corolla. There’s even talk of a new GR 86 with a 1.6 liter turbo hybrid similar to the Supra but with a smaller engine. This would be an expensive addition. The GR Super Sports, Toyota’s version of the Lexus LFA successor, is reportedly in development too. The GR Super Sports could be a flagship even as Lexus releases the LFR.

This timeline suggests the GR86, GR Super Sports and new Supra could all release by 2026, but that’s a tight schedule. Releasing all these cars in two years feels unlikely even for Toyota. They might spread them out from 2025 to 2030 but squeezing them all in by 2026 feels impossible. Toyota has already delayed the 4Runner for about five years, so I’m skeptical.

The MR2 and Celica are also rumored to return by 2026, as well as the GRMN Corolla, GRMN Yaris, and new flagship Super Sports. Altogether, Toyota’s lineup would include a new Supra, MR2, Celica, GR86, and Starlet. It’s incredible to think Toyota would release this many sports cars in the 2020s, especially when most manufacturers are turning towards homogenized, electrified, or turbocharged powertrains.

So yes, long live Toyota and Gazoo Racing! I couldn’t be more excited for the new Supra and the entire lineup of GR sports cars.