We Won't Get the Four-Cylinder Toyota Supra In the US

In Japan, you'll be able to buy a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder Supra. That won't be the case in the US.


Perhaps you've heard there's a new Toyota Supra. The base engine for this long-awaited machine is a 2.0-liter turbo-four from BMW, in 194- and 255-hp guises. But not in the US.

At the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we caught up with Toyota's North American boss, Jack Hollis, to talk about the company's plans for the Supra. He said there's a chance we could eventually get a four-cylinder Supra, but it's not on the docket right now.

"We may [get the four-cylinder], but at this point, there's no plan," Hollis told me. "It's obviously an available engine for us, but we have not chosen to bring it in."

"I think the heritage of [the Supra], the purists would say 'it's an inline-six,' and that's what we're doing here," he added. "Is there going to be as much demand for a four-cylinder versus the six in a vehicle that's aspirational, and a little bit more of a 'want' car than a 'need' car? I don't know."

It's important for Toyota to offer a 2.0-liter Supra for markets where larger-displacement engines are more heavily taxed, and where gas prices are higher. In the US, neither of these are major issues currently, so the only engine planned for our market is the top-spec, 335-hp 3.0-liter turbo straight six. Plus, Toyota already offers a four-cylinder sports car—the 86.

And if you want this chassis with a four-cylinder, you can just buy a 2019 BMW Z4, which comes standard in the US with that 255-hp 2.0-liter.

Hollis said that if there's sufficient market demand for a four-cylinder Supra in the US, Toyota will bring it over. Frankly, however, we don't suspect there will be much outcry for such a model.

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