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What If... The Toyota Supra Evolved Into Japan's Ultimate Sports SUV?

It’s officially “open season” on nameplate conversion, and you can thank the battery-electric revolution for that. Ford already caved and used the Mustang moniker for an electric crossover and odds are more carmakers will follow with their own iconic brands.
Toyota Supra SUV rendering 7 photos
Photo: Joao Kleber Amaral for autoevolution
Toyota Supra SUV renderingToyota Supra SUV renderingToyota Supra SUV renderingToyota Supra SUV renderingToyota Supra SUV renderingToyota Supra SUV rendering
All we can do is hope that some of the people in charge know what they’re doing and that they can recognize the value of the novelty factor. If your product is awesome enough as it is, it shouldn’t need to borrow an already-established moniker in order to sell well. Alas, we’re here to contemplate what would happen if Toyota ever decided to turn the Supra into something more family friendly.

First, a walk down memory lane, because the Supra is so worth it. Between 1978 and 2022, Toyota produced four different generations of the Supra, with a fifth one hitting showrooms in early 2019.

The first three generations were all Grand Tourers, more so than sports cars. It wasn’t until the fourth-generation model came out in 1993 that Toyota started to place more of an emphasis on performance.

Initially, Supra wasn’t even a standalone nameplate – it was used alongside the Celica moniker. The connection between Celica and Supra wasn’t terminated until the third-generation car came along in 1986. That was when the former was shifted onto a front-wheel drive platform, while the Supra got to keep the rear-wheel drive layout.

Toyota Supra SUV rendering
Photo: Joao Kleber Amaral for autoevolution
Anyway, I’m willing to bet that no matter how old you are, whenever you think “Supra”, you immediately picture the fourth generation A80 variant. It’s deeply rooted in pop culture thanks to games like Need for Speed and blockbuster movies such as The Fast and the Furious. But it was always popular with aftermarket specialists and people who enjoyed that whole tuned car culture.

Aside from its natural good looks, the A80 Supra was also wicked quick, especially the 325 hp turbocharged variant (that’s twin turbo) which could accelerate to 60 mph (97 kph) in just 4.6 seconds. What, you think that’s slow? At its best, the Supra was as quick to 60 mph in the mid-90s as the Audi R8 was back in 2006 when it was first introduced. Chew on that for a minute.

As for the current gen model, aka the GR Supra (where GR stands for Gazoo Racing), the was developed in partnership with BMW. It even shares the same platform, various parts and power units with the G29 BMW Z4. Is it a massive upgrade over the A80 Supra though? Well, sure, in terms of comfort, safety, quality and fuel efficiency, yes. On paper though, the fastest GR Supra is only half a second or so quicker to 60 mph than its predecessor. To be fair, independent tests have shown the GR Supra to be a tiny faster than advertised.

Toyota Supra SUV rendering
Photo: Joao Kleber Amaral for autoevolution
Now, let’s say Toyota decided it was time to shake things up and use the Supra moniker for a sporty SUV, be it battery electric or a plug-in hybrid, it actually doesn’t matter as far as this thought experiment is concerned.

Visually, our exclusive renderings give us some idea of what such a vehicle might look like, especially if Toyota kept the design language as is. Personally, I’d rather they stick to making two-door sports cars as far as the Supra is concerned, but if there was ever a demand for such a crossover to exist, I’m sure the Japanese brand would at least hold a meeting to consider their options.

Also, if we compare this rendering to the real-life Ford Mustang Mach-E, it’s pretty obvious that the latter would make for a more practical choice, which matters since people who buy SUVs are pretty big on practicality.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
Sergiu Tudose profile photo

Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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