Toyota tapped into a deep well of nostalgia when it reintroduced the Supra to its lineup after an absence of decades. But it hasn’t gone as far as it could to remind American buyers of the Supras of old. There’s still the matter of an open-top model. While the company has given no indication that one is on the way, it has given a hint of what one might look like.
The GR Supra Sport Top is a one-off custom build that, so far, Toyota has no plans to sell. Calling back to open-top Supras of the 1980s and 90s, it features a 2-piece removable hardtop designed to slide into the car’s trunk. Its round taillights and basket-handle rear wing are reminiscent of the last Targa-top Supra, which left the U.S. market in 1998.
Could this be a trial balloon for introducing a topless Supra to the U.S. market? Possibly.
Converting a sports car into a convertible is typically a complex operation that can rob it off much of the performance that makes people want to buy it in the first place. It involves adding bracing to the frame to make up for the stiffness lost by removing the roof, which adds weight, and often still doesn’t bring the handling up to par.
The Supra, however, is built in partnership with BMW, on the same architecture as the BMW Z4, which already comes roofless. The bones are there.
The Supra outsells its European cousin – some months by a two-to-one margin – so Toyota may see no need to add a roofless model. But, then, they built this. We’ll keep our eyes open for any other developments.
