Toyota has applied to trademark the iconic Supra name, according to documents it filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on July 16. The company’s previous trademark on the model name expired in 2006, and for the past four years Toyota didn’t bother to renew it.

This may be more than just business as usual. Only four days earlier, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda told journalists in Japan that he wants “to see the next Supra tested in the near future”, although he qualified that by adding “even if one president [Toyoda himself] says that we want to have a Supra again, the whole company is not going to be responding to that request.”

We spoke with Toyota’s vice president of external communications, Mike Michels, this afternoon for more info. Toyota, like many other carmakers, categorically won’t comment on future product plans except when, you know, they will. This was a case when they wouldn’t—Michels told us that Toyota likely just registered the name “provisionally” to “make sure we have a lot of latitude to use names in the future.” This is true, and it happens often. But the trademark system is really designed around use (or honest plans to use the trademark for a product), and, generally speaking, a company would have three years to use the name until it’s considered abandoned.

Not too long ago we reported that the rumor mill was spinning to the tune of a new successor to the Toyota Supra and MR2 coming out in the next few years. Today we are happy to report, according to Car and Driver, that Toyota has secured a trademark for use of the Supra name. What does that mean? It could mean a few things such as Toyota is actually going to name a new vehicle “Supra” which also means the vehicle will probably be based on the FT-HS concept or some variant of that.



It is very unlikely that the name Supra will be touted on the upcoming FT-86. Toyota president Akio Toyoda already said that he wants “to see the next Supra tested in the near future.” With the unfortunate death of Hiromu Naruse, Toyota’s test driver and creator of the last Supra and current Lexus LFA, it may have slowed any plans that Toyota had in the works for any type of car to receive the Supra nameplate. Only time will tell while we once again patiently wait for something more-exciting to come out of Toyota. I am even willing to forget all of the recent Toyota recalls if they came out with a Supra. HAHA!

According to a recent report, Toyota's lawyers made a little mistake as they let the company's ownership of the Supra name expire.

Before you start worrying about a Tata Nano-based Supra, rest assured, Toyota has once again applied for the trademark after a four-year lapse.

While this could mean nothing (companies routinely protect names they've previously used), it wouldn't be surprising if Toyota decided to slap the Supra label on the production version of the FT-86 concept. Despite being speculation, it seems like a logical choice given the FT-86 is scheduled to launch in November 2011. Of course, if we want to be optimistic, Toyota could be preparing another sportscar - like the FT-HS concept - for a Supra revival.

Regardless of what happens, stayed tuned to WCF for continuing coverage of the Supra saga.

Talk of a Toyota Supra successor has been around ever since the legendary Japanese sports car went out of production in the early part of the last decade.

Things really heated up when Toyota unveiled an advanced sports car concept with similar proportions to the Supra at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show.

However, in the years following the reveal of the striking concept car, the global financial crisis hit, the cost of fuel spiked, and Toyota even decided to pull out of Formula 1 racing.

Things weren't looking good for any kind of sports car from Toyota.

Now, with sports car loving Akio Toyoda at the helm, Toyota has rekindled its desire to build performance cars as evidenced by the recent launches of the Lexus LFA supercar, a much sportier GS sedan, and the new GT 86/Scion FR-S sports car.

But Toyota’s sports car revival isn’t expected to end with just these models.

Speaking with Drive, the chief engineer of the GT 86 Tetsuya Tada revealed that Toyota could launch two more sports cars, one positioned below the GT 86 and another above. It’s this higher positioned model that has got the rumor mill working overtime with suggestions that the Supra name may make a return.

“I would like to have one smaller and one larger. One would probably be a Supra follower. Nothing has been decided yet. It would [be] like a Supra successor,” Tada said.

He went on to reveal that the Supra successor could be developed together with Subaru, just like the GT 86, though he stressed that a sound business case was needed first. We’re not sure if Subaru would be willing to revive its own SVX badge but at the least the automaker does have a history of selling high-end sports cars.

If all goes to plan, there could be a new entry-level sports car from Toyota or Scion priced below $20,000, followed by the GT 86 and FR-S in the $20k to $30k bracket, and a new generation Supra priced above $50k and competing against the likes of the Nissan GT-R and Chevrolet Corvette.