2020 Toyota Supra shows why brand-new sports car buyers miss out

Key changes to the new Toyota Supra show how first-year buyers of new sports cars aren’t rewarded for their faith in a manufacturer.

The new Toyota Supra proves what car many industry observers have known for years — buyers who commit to sports cars in their first year of production often miss out on the best features.

Toyota’s first Supra batch sold out in minutes last year, when hundreds of people committed to the car through an online ordering process. Another batch of cars is on the way to dealers.

But those might prove tricky to sell, as an upgraded bunch is also due in the second half of 2020.

An upgraded Toyota Supra is on the way.

Changes include an increase in power (from 250kW to 285kW), along with “more track focused handling” made possible by new body braces and reworked suspension settings.

Full Australian details and prices for the upgraded cars will be confirmed closer to its arrival.

US examples also benefit from wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity and improved driver aids and these might be on the way. A special edition in the US brings eye-catching front and rear spoilers, along with black wheels.

A ducktail spoiler debuts on America’s 2020 Toyota Supra.

Existing customers might feel short changed but Toyota says the tweaks “keep faith with Toyota’s promise at the global launch that the reborn Supra would continually evolve in what is a highly competitive segment”.

It also says fewer cars will be available as the model ages.

That should not come as a surprise.

Sports car sales graphs sometimes mirror the path of a bungee jumper — starting on a high as buyers snap up a hot new model then falling sharply as demand subsides.

Just as the elastic thrillseeker bounces a couple of times, sales rise a little and fall again in-line with midlife refreshments and run-out specials.

Most models get midlife changes to keep buyers interested but sports cars experience more dramatic sales declines.

Initial demand for the Toyota 86 soon fell away.

Toyota sold 6706 examples of the affordable Toyota 86 coupe during its first full year on sale. That number dropped to 2068 three years later, then plummeted to 568 sales in 2019.

The Japanese giant is determined to avoid that trend with the Supra, in part by restricting initial supplies but also by rolling out desirable updates to tempt buyers — new or existing — with new metal.

Toyota is far from alone in waiting until initial demand has passed before introducing important upgrades.

Renault recently announced that the standard Megane RS will receive the same high-output engine as the range-topping Megane Trophy-R. The news is unlikely to please those who bought either variant.

Renault’s $74,990 Megane RS Trophy-R has donated its engine to far cheaper models.

The French marque also launched its performance hero with a three-year warranty in 2018 before introducing a five-year guarantee and sharp drive-away prices in 2019.

In 2018, Volkswagen made a running change to its popular Golf GTI, boosting power and fitting as standard its desirable dual-clutch automatic transmission and “Performance Pack” with big brakes.

Holden’s last Commodore SS launched with a 6.0-litre, 270kW V8 in 2013 then, with many other upgrades in 2015, adopted a much-improved 6.2-litre with 304kW.

The trend is not limited to mainstream marques. Porsche is in the process of rolling out upgrades to the Cayman, including a six-cylinder GTS — the 4.0-litre engine had been in the dearer GT4.

Ferrari invited its most loyal customers to buy the 488 Pista in 2018, with 530kW of power for $596,888 plus options and on-road costs that pushed real-world prices beyond $800,000.

The new F8 Tributo, with the same engine in a very similar package, is $484,888.