Toyota Could Abandon The Supra Name

Toyota FT-1 Concept (Credit: Toyota)

CarAdvice, an automotive website from the land Down Under, says the chief engineer at Toyota, Tetsuya Tada, is fighting to have the much-rumored upcoming sports car be named the Supra. That’s not really too shocking, until you realize the news means there are forces in the company that don’t want to use the legendary moniker.

At first, it seems that naming the car the Toyota Supra is a foregone conclusion. Enthusiasts lust after the Supra, thanks in no small part to the Fast and Furious franchise (sad, but true). People would line up to get their hands on a modern Supra, right?

Maybe not. Most people who’ll be able to afford the car might not be so hot on the name, because it doesn’t sound “sophisticated” enough. Calling the vehicle the Supra will set certain expectations, and if Toyota doesn’t create something that people feel lives up to the old car, there could be a backlash.

There’s a strong possibility Toyota will go with an alphanumeric name for the new sports car. Somehow, the Toyota GT2900 just doesn’t sound nearly as good as the Toyota Supra, but that’s just my opinion. Hopefully Tada gets his way and the new car is really great and is called the Supra, that way everyone’s happy, but we’ll see.