Toyota Seems to Be Considering a Lightweight, Track-Focused GR Supra

The 2021 model year brought a bunch of changes to Toyota’s halo sports car, the Supra. Americans are getting a four-cylinder Supra for the first time ever (it’s been sold elsewhere until now), and the Supra’s six-cylinder engine carries over from the 2020 model but with more power. That’s quite a lot of fiddling for a car that has been on sale less than a year—and there may be more on the way, as Toyota could be working on a track-focused Supra with less weight outside of the promised 430-hp GT4 racing version.

Where did we get that idea? On a media call this week, Jack Hollis, Toyota’s group vice president and general manager for North America, said Toyota will continue to improve and change the Supra throughout its six-year life-cycle, and that such tweaks could include a six-cylinder track-focused version. (And, presumably, a street-legal one, compared to the previously announced, not-street-legal Supra GT4 race car.) The 2021 Supra 3.0-liter (dubbed Supra 3.0), with its 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque, is obviously hotter than the new four-cylinder Supra 2.0, but we’d never argue with a powerful rear-wheel-drive sports car losing a few pounds.

For an idea of what that diet might look like, we present the 2021 Supra 2.0. Besides introducing a 255-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to the lineup (and creating a new, entry-level Supra), the 2.0 sees cuts to its equipment relative to the Supra 3.0 and sheds about 200 pounds of weight. Instead of the 3.0’s four-piston brakes, the 2.0 gets single-piston units, 18-inch wheels instead of 19s, and the four-cylinder model loses its bigger-engined sibling’s active rear differential and adaptive suspension. Toyota apply similar content reductions to the six-cylinder Supra for a harder-core, more track-focused experience.

The Supra 3.0 could go even further and ditch its fancier audio system, power-adjustable seats, head-up display, and even its touchscreen infotainment system in its bid for a lighter curb weight. It could also ditch the passenger’s seat, similar to the Dodge Challenger Demon drag car (which made the passenger perch optional), though we don’t see that happening. A switch to 18-inch wheels would help with the diet, and although we’re doubtful about the Supra 3.0 losing its adaptive suspension and going for smaller brakes, we could see some kind of chassis combination—manually adjustable shocks and carbon-ceramic rotors, perhaps?—that pleases track fanatics.

Hollis also said that Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division (GR), which is the equivalent of the M Sport division for BMW, “will grow in the U.S.” in the next few years. 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. Back in February, we reported that there is hope for the Corolla to get the spicy 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbo found under the foreign-market GR Yaris’ hood, and with crossovers being so popular, even the C-HR could become a more attractive starting point for an affordable performance model.

We’ve also reported that the next-generation Toyota 86 might be getting the GR badge, as there are reports that the sports car will be based on Toyota’s TNGA platform. Today’s 86 is based on a Subaru platform that also underpins the BRZ. Of course, most of this is speculation, but the fact that Toyota is growing the GR lineup in the U.S.—and sees openings for special, track-focused variants like a Supra lightweight—has us stoked as like kids on Christmas Eve.

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