If Lexus Wants to Build Cars – How ‘Bout a Real Supra?
A Lexus-based Supra would be way better than the current Toyota Z4.
Lexus wants to build cars. Not just SUVs and CUVs, or whatever the term du jour is for staid blobby crossovers. Spiros Fotinos, Lexus’ European Director, said as much recently when he indicated that Lexus won’t give up the traditional lower-slung cars. “We’re clearly working on alternative body types that would allow us to offer a wider range of vehicles… We’re not excluding anything.”
That means Lexus and Toyota are serious about producing many of the concept cars revealed in December 2021. In the coming years, we can expect coupes, sedans, and possibly even a wagon. Even a worthy successor to the LFA is on the horizon. Many people including your humble author will lament the passing of internal combustion engines as we march towards an electric future. But it’s a price worth paying for driving something that doesn’t resemble a lozenge.
However, if we’re going to learn to love electric cars, I have one request – how about a real Supra?
I know the Supra is a Toyota model and not a Lexus. But Toyota clearly fumbled on the goal line with the BMW Supra. We’ve all heard the justifications of platform sharing and blah, blah blah. Quietly I’ll admit that Toyota did build a better BMW Z4 and did a great job on the exterior styling. But it’s not a Supra.
But it has an inline-six engine! Nope, not a Supra.
Toyota wanted to resurrect the 2JZ engine but couldn’t make it pass emissions! Yeah, and little green men used 5G wireless to spread the coronavirus. Still not a Supra.
This brings me to why I’m asking Lexus to build a Supra. The F-Sport lineup shows Lexus, and by association Toyota, know how to deliver high-performance vehicles. These high-performance vehicles are distinctive and different from ones produced by other companies. And those vehicles speak to the core of the brand. You won’t see VW teaming up with Subaru to slap a Porsche Crest on the BRZ. Likewise, Mercedes-Benz won’t start using GM LS engines anytime soon.
The best example of what I’m trying to describe is the new Nissan Z. Built on the same platform as the Infiniti Q50/Q60, it shares the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 as those cars. By all accounts, the Z is a great car. It pays tribute to Nissan’s history without being saddled with it. By contrast, the current Supra is a good car but Toyota tried too hard. It’s like the Fast and the Furious franchise that made each movie bigger and more implausible while losing the core of what made them unique.
Toyota could have taken the N-platform which underpins the Lexus IS and RC, complete with the GR 3.5-liter V6, and dropped the Supra’s body on it. That engine powers lots of Lexus and Toyota vehicles and is good enough for Lotus. Why for the love of Paul Walker didn’t they do it?
It’s beyond me. Maybe it’s too late to rectify the situation with an internal combustion engine. But if Lexus is serious about building cars, even electric cars, it is the only hope for a real Supra.
Images: Toyota
