Toyota Supra concept tipped

Rumours are bubbling up again about a Toyota Supra successor to be unveiled as concept at Detroit, with US site Autoblog reporting they've heard from "a few very well-placed members of the Toyota team" that the concept will point to a production version.

It's far from the first time we've heard about the Supra being raised from the grave, with the 2007 FT-HS concept looking a likely contender for the role at the time -- although any plans were sunk by the global financial crisis a year later.

Still, even as recently as 2012, Toyota's local execs were expressing their belief that the FT-HS would seed a Supra successor. "(The FT-HS) definitely looks like a Supra replacement" Greg Gardner, product planning chief for Toyota Australia, told Carsguide in 2012. "And that's consistent with what we said four years ago. It's under study."

Gardner said at the time that the development of any further sports cars would depend on reaction to the Toyota 86. And we all know how that went for them. He also indicated the FT-HS seeded car would sit above the 86, although there was no indication if the eventual production car plans included being powered by the 2007 concept's hybrid drivetrain.

However, with the increasing move towards using hybrid power to add performance without weight and fuel penalties, it's likely a concept version at Detroit -- if more than just another rumour -- could carry a later development of the technology, wedding an electric motor to a 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder (or even V6) tipped to push out a total of more than 300kW.

This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott