Toyota plans to secure the future of its iconic models through collaborations with other manufacturers, enabling the development of legendary cars like the Celica and MR2.
The future of the Toyota Supra GR in question
The Toyota Supra GR may disappear in a few years when the association between BMW and Toyota ends. However, the Japanese automobile giant has assured that it intends to continue its collaborations with other manufacturers to produce legendary models such as the Celica and the MR2.
Toyota wants to appeal to car enthusiasts, or at least to that small group of people who buy a car for fun and not just to get around. Among these enthusiasts, we obviously find fans of Japanese cars.
Protecting car enthusiasts
Gazoo Racing president Tomoya Takahashi said the only way Toyota can continue making fun cars in the future is to collaborate with other manufacturers, according to Carsguide. Vehicles like the fifth generation of the Toyota Supra would never have seen the light of day without the partnership with BMW, due to the high cost of developing an entirely new chassis and engine.
The cost of solo development would have been too high for Toyota to invest in a car with low sales volume. Love it or hate it, the BMW Z4's platform and powertrain are largely responsible for the Supra GR's 2019 launch.
Past and future collaborations
Toyota also collaborated with Subaru to produce the GR86, reaping much of the benefit from joint production of the BRZ's popular twin. Toyota is once again seeking this type of symbiosis to share the development costs of future models in the GR range.
Takahashi explains that this is not necessarily for the survival of the manufacturer, โbut to protect car enthusiastsโ. He goes on to say, โOur mission is to make car enthusiasts smile, so sometimes we have to collaborate.โ
The declining sports car market
Takahashi adds: โThe sports car market will shrink in the future. We cannot maintain sports cars as one brand, Toyota. Collaboration between brands will increase in the future. We donโt know who we are going to collaborate with.โ
As for Toyota's future models, Takahashi says GR's goal is not to make fast cars, but fun ones. The arrival of electric vehicles does not seem to be a major concern for Gazoo Racing. Toyota is capable of making fun cars on its own, as the Corolla GR and Yaris GR demonstrate.
Potential collaborations
But even these models are improved versions of cars originally designed for everyday use, rather than models created exclusively for car enthusiasts. In the case of the Yaris, there was an overlap with Mazda, which sold its own model under the Mazda2 name.
A collaboration between Mazda and Toyota for a future model therefore seems understandable. Mazda's commitment to the electrification of the next Miata also suggests a possible collaboration between the two brands.
Rumors about the return of the Celica and the MR2
For now, it is unclear whether Toyota will partner, much less with whom, to develop the long-awaited return of the Celica or the electrified MR2. What seems clear is that Takahashi believes another GR SUV is needed to grow Toyota's performance arm.
Takahashi told Carsguide that an SUV โmight be necessary in the future, if GR wants to grow.โ The investment could go towards a RAV4 GR (or RAV4 Prime), although a collaboration with Suzuki has also been mentioned.
However, this seems unlikely, and a Century GR is much more feasible given the monumental margins the manufacturer could reap. Everything remains possible in Toyota's future.
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