We’ve known the new Toyota Supra would get a four-cylinder option for nearly a year now. What we haven’t known is its fate in the U.S., and it’s still hard to say—despite a recent California emissions certification for it, Toyota still says its current U.S. plans don’t include a four-cylinder.
Ah, well. Dreams of buying a cheaper fifth-generation Supra for some obscure engine swap you might want to do will have to be shelved in the U.S., for now.
The flash of four-cylinder U.S. potential on the famously six-cylinder Supra came in a list of BMW certifications, published by the California Air Resources Board on April 26 and found by Automobile. The documents had a 2020 Supra with a 2.0-liter engine certified by the board at the bottom of the list, despite the 3.0-liter, inline-six car with 335 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque being the only one confirmed for America.
Given that the 2.0-liter listing mirrored what Toyota has already announced for the Japanese-market four-cylinder option, Jalopnik reached out to Toyota about the certification—asking if it meant the engine would come to the U.S. for 2020, and what form it would come in. (The Japanese-market car has two options for the four-cylinder, one with 255 HP and one with just 194 HP. Supra chief engineer Tetsuya Tada told Road and Track that for people wanting to 2JZ swap the car, “Please buy the four-cylinder. It will be cheaper.”)
But the answer is neither, for now.
“At this point, Toyota’s plans for the Supra in the U.S. include only the 3.0-liter inline six that will be in the 2020 Supra when it goes on sale this summer,” a spokesperson said. Jalopnik asked if there was any reason why it was certified if it’s not in the plans, and the representative said its manufacturer, BMW, “has taken steps to certify an engine for a variety of uses.”
Reports about whether a four-cylinder Supra would come to the U.S. have been mixed, since Toyota confirmed its Japanese specs right around the car’s official debut. (“Which one?” you might ask.) It looks like they’ll continue to be mixed, indefinitely, which is ideal for everyone involved. Totally.
But if there’s anything that Toyota’s proven in the past year or so with the new Supra and its endless teasers, it’s that nothing—no matter how irksome or drawn out—lasts forever.