I know, I know, the title to this post sounds like complete blasphemy but hear me out.
As we already know, Toyota is teaming up with BMW to produce a sports car, which we will call “Supra” to make life easier and hoping it is actually called the “Supra”. We are also hoping that the “Supra” will be powered by a BMW sourced straight six, dual clutch transmission and rear wheel drive like the old school Supra. The main thing people have been having a conniption over, has been the addition of hybrid technology. Nobody would want the legendary Supra to be propelled by gas and electricity, but they are looking at it all wrong.
First of all, I highly the next Supra, regardless of design, powertrain, suspension, etc…is going to be watered down in any way shape or form. The hybrid system that Toyota would most likely use, would be one like the Formula 1 inspired KERS system. While it won’t be like the 911 or GTR which will probably be the Supra’s main competition, in terms of being a pure sports car, it’s performance may overshadow the use of electric motors.
For those who don’t know, KERS stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System, which basically converts kinetic energy under braking into power. In other words, remember how nitrous works in video games. KERS would allow for one of two things. Either more power or a temporary boost of power like what Formula One race cars use. Wouldn’t it be nice to get a couple second boost of power?
Alternatively, the KERS system could add to the output of the straight six engine, they would use in the Supra. Combine KERS with a set of twin turbos and we might just forget about the gripes we had about electrical components in our sports cars.
Are we going to see the return of the 2JZ/GTE? I doubt it. The straight six Toyota and BMW plan to use is going to be as close as we are going to get. We can also most likely bet on a set of turbos added to it.
While it is a bummer that the next Supra might follow in the ways of the members of the Holy Trinity, it may not be completely bad. While I am an advocate for the pure sports cars like the original Supra, I also admire the technology that we put into our newer rides. If it comes down to it, somebody will make a delete kit.
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