Toyota Registers the Supra Name Again

Automotive enthusiasts and Supra fans from around the world might consider booking a location for a huge party: Toyota has requested a new trademark for the Supra name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on July 16, as caranddriver reports.

The previous trademark from the name expired back in 2006 and has not been renewed until now. This comes after the company’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, said that he would like to see a new Supra being tested soon. However, the top exec stressed the fact that his decision to build a successor for the Supra doesn’t necessarily mean that Toyota dealerships will get one in the future, as other executives that also have decision power may cancel the project.

Unfortunately, the new Supra might be something else than we were expecting. This is because earlier media reports indicate that the Supra will use a hybrid powerplant. The Supra, which is believed to have been previewed by the FT-HS concept, could borrow the latter’s hybrid powertrain. We are talking about a V6 petrol-electric powertrain.

And there’s more. During a recent press conference, Toyota confirmed the fact that the development of the Toyobaru project (the FT-86) is going according to plan and the vehicle will be released in November 2011. The Japanese automotive producer added that the FT-86 will not have a hybrid powertrain, explaining that the company is working on a (different) hybrid performance vehicle. This is a far stretch here, but the automaker could’ve been talking about the Supra.