Here’s What to Expect from the Toyota GR Supra Going Forward

Though the A90 Supra is only available with an eight-speed transmission, there’s always the chance that we’ll see a third pedal and a manual shifter in the sports car. Currently, the automaker has a group of engineers based in Munich, Germany, working hand in hand with BMW techs, so there are more news coming. However, Hollis said that, although both teams are working together, Toyota engineers make unique changes and chassis tuning to the Supra. Enthusiasts have always craved a stick shift, so we can only hope Toyota is listening.

Toyota says it is not planning to replace or upgrade the Supra’s infotainment system, but we see that as an area where the Supra could use a change. Currently, the BMW Z4, which shares many of its parts with the Supra, is equipped with BMW’s latest iDrive 7 system, which adds wireless Android Auto. The Supra, on the other hand, has the previous version of the same infotainment system (iDrive 6), and though it is compatible with wireless Apple CarPlay, it does not support Android Auto. Ben Haushalter, senior manager of product planning at Toyota, tells us that they’re always looking at possibilities to upgrade the Supra, but the topic about having Android Auto hasn’t been brought up by customers.

Gazoo Racing (GR), which is Toyota’s performance division, “will grow in the U.S.,” according to Hollis. That raised our eyebrows. Although our chances of getting the 268-hp rally-inspired GR Yaris are slim to none, we could get a GR-branded Corolla hatch or a GR C-HR crossover. A Corolla hatchback with the 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine would make a lot of noise in the U.S. and would be a great addition to the growing number of hot hatches we have.

Sure, the six-cylinder Supra is clearly the most muscular Supra, but we could see an even sportier version in the future that combines the four-cylinder Supra’s weight-loss diet with the bigger engine. The four-cylinder Supra 2.0 is about 200 pounds slimmer than the Supra 3.0 thanks to its smaller wheels, no adaptive suspension, two fewer cylinders less and a smaller equipment list. That got us thinking—could Toyota build a lighter, six-cylinder track-oriented model? Hollis and Haushalter said that’s not happening right now, but with the Supra getting a lot of attention lately and the fact that it’s already participating in NASCAR and Formula Drift, and there is a track-only Supra GT4 on the way, we wouldn’t be surprised if we see it down the road.