Toyota Admits the Supra Will Disappear for a While

Toyota’s top product planner in North America said in 2025 that there will be a gap between the current GR Supra and its successor, though he wants it far shorter than the last one.

"It would be logical that we would have a next-gen Supra. But when and how is still TBD," said Cooper Ericksen, senior vice president of product planning and strategy for Toyota Motor North America. "Definitely there will be a gap. The question is how big will that gap be… It is our goal to have a gap that is significantly less [than the last one]."

Ericksen made the comments in an interview with MotorTrend, as reported by Motor1, and he blamed the end of the current car on the cost of keeping it legal. "A product like Supra, it’s made it to a point where now we have a Final Edition, and the reason is it’s just not cost-effective with all the new regulations and investment we have to make," he said. "It needs to be a new house. When we can get the new house built is the question." He also said Toyota has its "hands full" with core models such as the new RAV4 and the Camry, which suggests the Supra isn’t first in line for engineering resources.

The last gap was a long one. The fourth-generation Supra left the US market in 1998, and the nameplate didn’t return for 21 years, when the fifth-generation car arrived sharing its platform with the BMW Z4. Toyota said production of that car would end in spring 2026 with the MkV Final Edition, and the dealer supply is already shrinking. Toyota sold just 21 Supras in the US in September, down from 221 a year earlier, according to its sales release.

What comes next is still unofficial. Torque Cafe noted that Japanese reports point to a next-generation Supra arriving around 2027 with a hybrid 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which Toyota hasn’t confirmed, and that Toyota hasn’t said whether another automaker would share the platform. In September, autoevolution reported that a sixth-generation Supra is in development and will be built in-house by Gazoo Racing, with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a rear-axle electric motor, rumored to make 400 to 500 hp combined. The outlet also said an electric version isn’t expected before 2030.

The Toyota Report Take

Toyota deserves credit for being upfront about the gap instead of letting fans assume a new Supra is right around the corner. Still, "significantly less" than 21 years is a low bar, and nothing Toyota has said publicly puts a date on the next car. If the reports of a hybrid four-cylinder built entirely by Gazoo Racing are right, the wait could produce a better Supra than the BMW-based one, but until Toyota confirms it, buyers should plan on a showroom without a Supra for at least a couple of years.