By next month, Toyota will announce a new performance series, otherwise known as a sports car lineup, several sources say.
Not much is known about the vehicles yet, but some publications speculate they'll be the Toyota-branded equivalent of Lexus's performance F series.
Toyota To Announce New Sports Car Series In September
Automotive News reports that the company is calling the lineup as a "new sports car series." With this in mind, one can say Toyota is somewhat busy because the move comes as hype for the launch of the new Supra, another much-anticipated sports car, heightens.
Information remains scarce at present, but Automobilemag believes the new lineup could feature new performance trims and packages for existing cars such as the Camry, Corolla, and 86.
New Toyota Sports Car Lineup: Don't Get Excited Yet
Here's the bad news: As with many special Japanese cars, the new lineup might not launch in the United States and instead be exclusive to Japan. But there's still a chance it could hightail stateside. Toyota offers a Racing Development car lineup in the United States under the Toyota brand, and the new cars scheduled for an announcement next month could be offered similarly. That is if they perform well in terms of sales.
The forthcoming sports car lineup will signify Toyota's efforts to develop a reputation for cars that are emotional and aspirational. Toyota wants to go beyond being labelled "reliable" and "utilitarian."
Just this month, Toyota fixed some organizational kinks and put sports car development under Gazoo Racing Co., the company's internal unit that's specifically for motorsports. Earlier this year, Toyota announced that it would strengthen the GRMN lineup, which is made up of sports editions of Toyota production vehicles.
Current models of Toyota that are specifically for sports include the 86 and Yaris GRMN, to name a couple. The Yaris GRMN is a supercharged hot hatch with a 205 horsepower and a six-speed manual.
It remains uncertain whether the event scheduled next month will showcase actual cars or if Toyota will only announce conceptual models. Should the latter case occur, at least Toyota will have the new Supra to draw the crowds in, though the car is rumored to not show until the end of October during the Tokyo Motor Show.
What do you think? Are you pumped for Toyota's unannounced sports car lineup? Any guesses as to what they might be? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
