Photo: Kleber Silva on Behance
The fifth generation of the Supra? Love it or hate it, there are two kinds of people who talk about the Japanese coupe. On the one hand, we have the naysayers who prefer the Mk IV for obvious reasons without understanding the notion of “different times, different cars.” As for the second type, that would be the individual who knows that Toyota couldn’t have developed the A90 without the help of BMW.
Gloss over sales figures for sports cars from mass-market brands, and you’ll notice a pretty worrying downward trend. Given that fewer sports cars are bought with each passing year, it would have been financially infeasible for Toyota to develop the Mk V on a dedicated platform or with TNGA-N underpinnings from the Crown.
Right off the bat, the Japanese juggernaut knew that it’s working on something that won’t sell as well as the C-HR, RAV4, Highlander, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser. The Supra is an enthusiasts’ special, not a utility vehicle addressed to a larger and more diverse demographic. The question is, would the A90 work as an SUV too?
No, the answer to that question is a definite no. Imagined this way by rendering artist Kleber Silva, the abomination before your eyes has a Lexus-esque profile and wheel wells so large that the five-spoke rims of the Supra look lost in there. Although chiseled and sporty, the rear end has too many things going on to qualify as a desirable design. The worst part of a Supra-inspired utility vehicle, of course, is how the front end mixes with the rest of the body. To put it bluntly, it just doesn’t.
Making a sporty SUV is hard enough given the high center of gravity and considerable weight, but diluting the Supra brand as such would be the end of the Supra brand if you think about it. Lest we forget, even the two-door sports car isn’t doing too hot these days considering how many 2020 models are sitting unsold on dealer lots.
Right off the bat, the Japanese juggernaut knew that it’s working on something that won’t sell as well as the C-HR, RAV4, Highlander, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser. The Supra is an enthusiasts’ special, not a utility vehicle addressed to a larger and more diverse demographic. The question is, would the A90 work as an SUV too?
No, the answer to that question is a definite no. Imagined this way by rendering artist Kleber Silva, the abomination before your eyes has a Lexus-esque profile and wheel wells so large that the five-spoke rims of the Supra look lost in there. Although chiseled and sporty, the rear end has too many things going on to qualify as a desirable design. The worst part of a Supra-inspired utility vehicle, of course, is how the front end mixes with the rest of the body. To put it bluntly, it just doesn’t.
Making a sporty SUV is hard enough given the high center of gravity and considerable weight, but diluting the Supra brand as such would be the end of the Supra brand if you think about it. Lest we forget, even the two-door sports car isn’t doing too hot these days considering how many 2020 models are sitting unsold on dealer lots.
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