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Toyota "El Camino" Supra Rendering - You WILL Stare

These days, the Coupe Utility Vehicle segment is dead and buried, but that doesn't mean people don't still get sentimental when they hear about names such as the Chevrolet El Camino or the Ford Ranchero.
Toyota "El Camino" Supra (Supra-based coupe utility vehicle) 216 photos
Photo: wb.artist20 via Instagram
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This nostalgia might be caused by the rather unique nature of these models in the U.S. automotive history, one might suspect, but as scarce as coupe utility vehicles were, the Ranchero and El Camino weren't alone. That means there must be a little more to it, and you only need to look at the various iterations of these two nameplates to see what it is.

They're just beautiful machines. From the side, you will immediately notice there is something wrong with the proportions as they don't exactly resemble a classic coupe's, but that's not to say they're not still pleasing to the eye. It's too late now to do anything about the SUVs stealing the "sports utility vehicle" moniker, but I feel as though a car-based coupe with a flatbed at the back would be much more deserving of the label.

Well, if the El Camino and Ford Ranchero were able to capture the public's attention with their looks, it's hard to imagine this fictional model based on the current Toyota Supra would manage to do the same. Perhaps using a roadster as a starting point instead of a sedan is pushing the envelope a little too far. Or maybe the Supra's lines just don't agree with the longer wheelbase and the three-box shape. Even though I can't think of any examples to debunk the former, I still feel as though the latter is the real culprit here.

That being said, as shown by the Pontiac Aztek or the Fiat Multipla before, I have no doubt this Toyota Supra "Ute" would still manage to find a few buyers out there. You only need to browse the comments section on the author's Instagram page (wb.artist20) to see that this hybrid enjoys a pretty mixed reception. Obviously, there's a long way between writing a comment and paying around $50,000 for a car with marginal practicality.

The thing with the "El Supra" (or do you prefer "Suprero"?) is that it would mess up the vehicle's handling completely. Moving the rear axle further to the back means reducing the weight pushing down on it, and since this is rear-wheel-driven, that would result in hampering its acceleration performance and increasing the risk of a powerslide when getting a little too giddy in a bend.

On the flip side, you get a bed. However, it doesn't look like you could fit that much in it, so maybe turning the Supra into a four-seat shooting brake instead would actually make slightly more sense. You'd get two extra seats, more cargo space than in the roadster, and none of that low weight over the rear axle nonsense.

At the end of the day, though, there's a reason the coupe utility vehicle trend died out in the first place: instead of looking for one solution to all of their motorized problems, people started buying specialized vehicles. Whoever gets a roadster like the new Supra will also afford a truck - at least used - if they really need one, making the idea of an El Supra nothing more than a weird-looking stillborn.

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Editor's note: Gallery features official Toyota Supra pictures

About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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