The new Toyota Supra isn’t here yet. So far we’ve only driven a disguised prototype, and Singapore deliveries are unlikely to begin before this September. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to know what Toyota might have in store for the Supra further down the line.

With that in mind we sat down with chief engineer Tetsuya Tada to find out about faster ones, slower ones, manual ones, tuner ones and ones that might look a bit different…

Can we expect some fast Supras?
I asked Tada-San if he’d be able to use a BMW M engine in the Supra. Specifically the new 500bhp twin turbo 3.0-litre that’ll soon appear in the new X3 M and X4 M, and next year in the new M3/M4.

Cue standard obfuscating answer: “As we further develop the car I believe that deals can be made and concluded as necessary, and one iconic element of Supra is in-line cylinders and we need to cherish that.”

(Click HERE to read about the new X3 M and X4 M)

This is when you have to read between the lines. The answer, I suspect very strongly, is no. Besides any question of packaging, justification for using that engine would only come if BMW also signed off a new Z4 M Roadster, which it shows no signs of doing. M’s direction seems SUV-fixated at present and the market for roadsters with anything over 350bhp is currently very limited.

(Click HERE to read our BMW Z4 M40i review)

So a lightweight one instead?
Yeah, that’s the more likely direction. At Geneva, Toyota showed a GT4 racer (above). Same engine and suspension, less weight. This is a theme Tada-san has already touched on with Top Gear.

“At some point I would like to make a track-limited Supra with less weight,” he told us a while back. “We’re already making a racing version so we know if you take out 100kg it’s a completely different car – you don’t even need any more power.”

(Click HERE to read more about the Supra GT4 racer)

This time he expanded on that: “For GT86 we came up with 100 units of a special version, called GRMN, for Japan only. And in one day we had 3,000 orders. That kind of special version is what we have in mind also for Supra. But this time I hope that customers worldwide can enjoy this. Engines obviously need to get better, the horsepower probably needs to be improved, the suspension or the body balance is something that could also be improved or reviewed.”

So here’s the guess: The Toyota GR Supra will spawn a limited edition GRMN Supra with a bit more power (BMW produces this engine with up to 382bhp in countries not subject to EU emissions regulations), but perhaps 100kg less weight thanks to lighter wheels, carbon brakes, carbon seats, less soundproofing and so on. A proper halo model for Toyota.

Will there be slower Supras?
Although Toyota hasn’t officially commented, it’s well known that plans for an entry-level Supra are well advanced. As Tada-san commented, “the Supra needs to continue to evolve each year”, hinting that there’s a plan for a whole model range rather than just this one coupe. The entry-level engine will be BMW’s single turbo B48 2.0-litre four cylinder motor (pictured above, from a BMW 330i).

Tada-san added: “The 2.0-litre engine will be lighter, which would improve the balance, so in a way you’ve come up with an even better handling of the car. And it’s not only the engine that will be lighter, we can make the transmission lighter, so actually it’s a considerable difference in the weight – about 100kg lighter.”

What we don’t know is how much power the base Supra will get. It’s fitted across the BMW range, from the MINI Cooper S to the BMW 630i and develops anywhere from 181bhp to 255bhp. In the Z4 it comes in two tunes: either 189bhp or 255bhp, giving 0-100km/h in either 6.6 or 5.4secs. For simplicity of development it’s pretty safe to assume Toyota will follow BMW’s lead.

What about a manual gearbox?
So far it’s not in the offing. The 3.0-litre straight six is only available with the ZF 8spd auto. Although BMW does produce that engine with a 6spd manual transmission, the suggestion from Tada-san is that Toyota won’t follow suit: “The sports automatic version that [we’re] coming up with now is probably very different from the sports automatic cars that customers have in mind. It’s a great evolution from what they have seen in the past.”

Then he went on to say, “if they still feel that they need the manual version I hope to hear their feedback and voices after this”. Enough pestering might just get us a manual, then.

I suspect it’ll only be available with the 2.0-litre engine – as a way of lowering the entry sticker price, and perhaps on the GRMN – as a way of further separating Supra from Z4. Expect rev-matching software.

A new cabin design?
A point he raised, not me. The Supra’s interior, as we all know, bears a very striking resemblance to the Z4’s. The architecture is identical, and the cars are built together on the same Steyr line, in Graz, Austria.

In a passing comment, Tada-san said, “most sportscar fans and customers would want evolution of the interior specification… so that’s what we have in mind in terms of the evolution in the future”.

This is interesting. There’s obviously a realisation that lifting so much from BMW is potentially damaging as it separates the Supra from the rest of the Toyota range, especially the GT86 (which Tada-san talks of as an ongoing project).

Quite what Toyota can do to disguise the BMW origins – and indeed whether it would want to, given the difference in perceived quality between the two marques – remains to be seen.

Surely there'll be lots of tuner support?
Yep. Aftermarket tuning is a big part of Japanese car culture. And Toyota will actively support it. In fact, it already is. “Actually, just one week ago, I showed the Supra prototype to tuners in the training plant, so that they can start working on tuning parts”, said Tada.

And yes, he’s aware that this will include people fitting the legendarily tuneable 2JZ engine from the fourth generation Supra. That was another 3.0-litre six-cylinder, but with two sequential turbochargers.

As standard it had 320bhp, but the engine was so strong it could cope with four figure outputs. It’ll happen again people, and you get the sense from Tada-san that he’ll actively encourage it. Behind the scenes at least.

Pictured: TRD’s tuned Supra

(Click HERE to read about the TRD-tuned Supra)

How about a Supra roadster?
“I think targa would be a higher probability or possibility than an open car version,” says Tada. This is no surprise. Build a roadster and you tread straight on BMW’s toes. Do a Targa and you nod back to earlier Supras.

Besides, Tada comments, a full electric roof “would be heavier, it would disturb the handling. And handling is everything”.

He went on to say that there are some difficulties with a targa top. “I’ve looked at it, and some customers say that it’s hard to store the roof and that once it’s been removed they don’t ever want to have [to do] it again… and because it’s tied to storage.”

Fair points, but not insurmountable. How about a clever electric mechanism? “That would be heavier.” So probably not. But surely a manually removable panel or panels that could be stored in the car would be a viable solution? No comment. It would be lightweight, and wouldn’t reduce the Supra’s LFA-beating structural stiffness? Still no comment. I reckon that’s as close as we’ll get to a confirmation.

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