Sorry to break the news to you, but the rumors about the Toyota Supra making its debut at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show are exactly that – Rumors. And, as it turns out, they are baseless rumors as Jack Hollis, Toyota’s VP and General Manager, told MotorTrend that it just isn’t up to a production level quite yet. To throw even more fuel on the fire, Hollis has said that the “Supra” name isn’t even finalized and that there are other names in consideration that could be better. What a sad piece of news this is, huh? Keep reading to learn a little more about it.

When Will We See The 2019 Toyota Supra?

The new Supra, as well as its BMW Z4 counterpart, have been seen testing a lot lately which was a strong signal that both would make their debut very early in the year, most likely at the Detroit Auto show. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case for the Supra, and I wouldn’t put my money on the Z4 debuting either. Considering it was built in such a strong partnership between the German and Japanese automakers, one debuting without the other seems like it would be a hit below the belt for the non-show-goer.

According to Hollis, there are still specifications that need to be finalized. That could mean a lot, but it could have to do with fine tuning of engine performance or even the suspension system. Furthermore, it could be possible that BMW and Toyota can’t agree on output specifications or pricing, a conflict that seemed almost inevitable when the partnership was first announced. Of course, there’s no telling what’s really going on behind the scenes, but for now, there are a lot of questions in the works. What will the “Supra” actually be called? Will Toyota call it the “Celica?” or perhaps the Cressida? Hell, it could even be badged as a Gazoo instead of a Toyota which means the model name itself could be almost anything – let’s just hope they don’t call it the Gazoo 1 or something stupid.

Final Thoughts

This news is certainly a bit of a heartbreaker, especially considering that I myself will be at the Detroit Auto Show. However, it’s possible that Chicago may become a potential venue as that show kicks off almost a month later and may be just the right amount of time for Toyota, BMW, or Gazoo – If that’s how it’s going to be – to nail everything down. If so, we’ll be there to catch its debut too, but that’s not the point. This baby has been in the oven for a long time, and daddy is ready to take delivery. With all of the SUVs polluting the streets with there excessive size, we really need this pair of small sports cars to even things out a bit. We’re itching for some performance here Toyota (and BMW) don’t let us down and make us wait another year.

References

Toyota Supra

Read our full speculative review on the 2019 Toyota Supra.

BMW Z4

Read our full speculative review on the 2019 BMW Z4.