It’s a shame that the word “hybrid” does not conjure up thoughts performance, but this would be sweet. The hybrid Highlander goes way faster than the other models, and It’d be neat to see something like this in a smaller car.

It’s also a smart move for Toyota, who knows that they’ll have a tough time competing with the mainstays – Evo, WRX, Mazdaspeed3, Si, GTI, and even the bigger pony cars like the Mustand, Camaro, and Challenger. So they’ll have a niche, which will ensure the success of the vehicle.

I’m not into these hybrid sportscars at all. They are overly complex and overweight.

They should call it Priusupra. The best of both worlds.

Electric motor = TONS of unlimited torque. Americans like torque. This is a good thing.

At least Toyota is going down a different path than the normal “just make the cylinders larger” way of doing things. While the americans are bringing out gas-guzzling muscle-cars like back in the 60’s and 70’s, Toyota is looking into the future a bit. That’s why that Tesla car is kinda interesting, but the hybrid system is a good half-way point.

I hope the final version isn’t as BUTT UGLY as the nissans 350Z return car… Man that thing has the uglyiest rear end on ANY car I have ever seen.. It looks only a bit better in a convertable, but not much. I had an old 1978 280Z, Now THAT was a pretty car…

my god i hate toyota so much
long live diesels

Do you hate Toyota as much as you hate math?

^lol
yeah i remember A4’s difficulty in computing 90% of something

If they would offer a small four seater rear-drive car as a Toyota I’d feel a lot less like this as being a copout.

Sell a $70,000+ Supra to bolster your sporting image.

How about anything halfway nice in the $20k range? Corolla XRS? No thanks…

I honestly cant see toyota making something exciting, Im definatly going to be in detroit…lets hope Im suprised. and yeah, hybrid and performance dosent sound like they go together….but some agressive advertising will change that,

how about engine tune-ability? will I be able to throw on some turbos with the hybrid part? or is this engine going to shut down with any attempt to up the performance?

I have heard, for some time, that Toyota was wanting in on the foray … their absence ignores a certain group (”A4″, above, being one who may drink from time to time which may result in subpar math skills).

Nissan will have someone to contend with very shortly. And “A4″ may change his mind …. may.

I can’t think of a worse application of a hybrid system than a sports car. Why?:
1. Most people who buy sports cars (myself included) don’t care much about fuel economy. My 450hp Corvette Z06 gets 33 MPG on the highway, which is great, but I would still love the car if it got only 10 MPG.

2. Hybrids immediately mean no manual transmission, and a driving experience similar to an automatic’s. No gear control, little driver involvement, etc. With the electric steering and electric brakes, we’re talking about a complete disconnect from driver and machine.

3. Hybrids are heavy, and weight is the enemy in a sports car.

4. This thing will have no audible or visceral appeal whatsoever. Who the hell wants a sports car to sound like a golf cart mixed with a V-6 Camry? I’ll keep my pushrod V-8, thank you very much. It roars and sounds like the gates of hell were just opened. Just the way I like it.

Leave it to Toyota to turn a sports car into an appliance.

and EXACTLY Z06ified
thats what toyota does with every one of their cars
im surprised they dont put dealerships next to the washing machines at best buy

Z06ified: For the record, the original Honda Insight was only available as a stick.

I’m glad you guys aren’t car engineers – we’d never end up w/ anything new or innovative.

(Hmmm – Maybe guys like you have been working at Ford and GM?)

Shame toyota ditched the popular 2JZGTE 3.0L twin turbo for this hybrid crap. Bring back the turbo supra!

The current Supra loyalist would hate a hybrid supra. Not saying its a bad thing, while I wouldnt buy one.

If they price this POS of a vehicle around $40,000, it’s already a lost cause before it even begins production.

I’d rather go sailing…

Isn’t the LF-A a mid-engined GT expected to be priced close to $80,000? There is no business case for Toyota to offer a decontented LF-A as a $40,000 mid-engined 2-seater right now.. especially since they seem to be in the process of cancelling everything in their lineup that has less than 3 doors and 4 seats! And even if they did, why would they call it Supra, which has always been a front-engined 2+2 model?

I suspect they’ll make the v-10 version the toyota and the hybrid, the lexus, seeing how things are going with them. most likely the toyota version would be priced mid- to high-30’s as a flagship car and the lexus replacing the current SC

I don’t get all this player-hatin’ toward toyota/lexus…
what’s wrong with innovation?
if everyone hated the “noisy and dangerous horseless carriages” we wouldn’t have cars in the first place

What’s wrong is that the Supra was the last car they offered that you could call a real sports machine.

They haven’t offered ANY vehicle that is even a tiny bit like it since 1998. This car may indeed be innovative and cool– hey, I’d love a ride in one– but it isn’t a replacement for the Supra.

And where in Toyota’s lineup are there any sportcars for someone who thinks Camrys and Corrollas are grocery getters? I look at Subaru and Mazda right now as my two most interesting Japanese brands. Their entire lineups are full of interesting vehicles in every category. Nissan and Mitsubishi do have their own true sports machines but their other offerings are pretty normal to bland.

Has anyone read the comparo review of the hybrid Lexus GS 450h in Car and Driver?

It came in last.

Why, not because it was slow, it is fast. It was b/c the the overly complex drivetrain does not lend itself to a true drivers car. The very nimbel BMW 550i and Infinti M45 Sport crushed it. The Benz E550 outmuscled it. This was a sport sedan tryout.

In a sportscar setting the hybrid drivetrain would be hopelessly lost. A diesel sportscar would do better against this.

Hybrids would be OK in an Economy car and a large Luxobarge or SUV, not for sporty apps.

There’s always a market for hybrid, even in the sports car category and Toyota is out to make more $. It’s too early to dismiss this one yet cause there isn’t anything like it in the market, that is a hybrid customized to be a true sports car as opposed to wanna be sport sedans. In any case, even if it performs below the rest of the competition in its class, if the mileage is good, there are always buyers.

I think it’s interesting that so many people are quick to jump to the conclusion that current Supra owners will hate a Supra Hybrid. I actually think it’ll play quite well. Mainly because, the people who have Supras (and really any Japanese sports car) have them because they’re different. Instead of having ginormous V8s, they have high-revving turbo 6s or 4s or something. The point is, what’s made Japanese sports cars great is the way they’ve used new technology to build innovative and efficient cars. I also think we need to remember that the “old” Supra everyone here is discussing was, in fact, a Mark IV Supra, which represented years and years of technological innovation. If Toyota wants to start that process over with hybrid motors, I’m pretty confident they’ll turn out a good product. It might not be the same kind of machine as the Mark IV, but give it a chance.

I totally understand the argument for the traditional sports car reciepe and against anything new, but in 20 or 30 years when the Z06s lap times are being crushed by far superior electric cars, the “my car makes a big noise” argument is going to fall on deaf ears.

/no

Personally I don’t care what kind of engine is under the hood, as long as it goes fast and doesn’t brake down (or the roof flies off, that would be REALLY terrible), I’m good.

Still, I’d rather have a Aston Martin or something.

cmon toyota, keep it turbo, its only right

When they build hybrid race cars, then hybrid sports cars will be for real.

Sports cars have high compression, light weight and RWD.

Hybrids fail in the lightweight dept.

Sports cars do not care about mileage.

I’d like ANY turbo RWD/AWD Toyota sedan or coupe.

Toyota really thinks they have thier consumers by the #@$% to produce something like this dont they??

Some of these comments are pretty asinine. Toyota is about innovation as well as reliability. As much as I like “pure” sportscars with absolutely no electronics, this is bound to stir the world as much as a diesel Audi R8 would. Most people simply cannot fathom change, and that’s sad. What’s wrong with a little something different, a game-changer the likes of which nobody has ever seen. I say bring it on, let the market decide. Oil’s gonna go back up in a year or so anyway, so any step in this direction is positive.

LF-A? SUpra?
Laughing my F’ing A$$ off…

YAWN.