Yahoo Autos BMW-Toyota Sports Car Collaboration Starts Production in 2018
Remember BMW and Toyota's partnership to build a two-door, rear-drive sports car? It's OK if you don't-it was announced years ago, and there hasn't been any significant news on it lately. But luckily, some news indicates that the joint roadster project is still in the works, with a rumor that the car will be built in Austria by manufacturing firm Magna Steyr.
Drawing on German business news outlets, Automotive News Europe reports that production of the BMW Z5 and the yet-to-be-named Toyota (Supra, maybe?) will begin in 2018, with a target of 60,000 cars per year. If Magna Steyr sounds familiar, that's because it's the company that manufactures the Mercedes G-Wagen, as well as the soon-to-be-discontinued Mini Paceman.
The company specializes in low-volume production for a variety of automakers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Peugeot. Magna Steyr is also said to start production on an as-yet unannounced Jaguar Land Rover vehicle next year, Automotive News reports.
Even though demand for two-seat roadsters is currently low, BMW CEO Harold Krueger reinforced his company's commitment to a Z4 replacement.
"BMW has a long roadster tradition," Krueger said in an interview with Automotive News Europe. "We will occupy the segment once more. It's not big, but it's important for the strength of the brand."
It's still unclear whether this car will represent the return of the Toyota Supra that fans have been clamoring for, or whether the Toyota version will represent a different type of sports car altogether. For now, all we can do is look at pictures of the Toyota FT-1 concept (shown above) to tide us over.
