The replacement for the Toyota 86 will leapfrog the Toyota Supra in driving enjoyment, if a report from Australia is to be believed.

Australian outlet MOTOR says chief Toyota 86 engineer Tetsuya Tada let slip that the company has a development team in place for the next generation of the company's small 2+2, and that team believes it has to "make a new 86 that surpasses the Supra" because "that is what the customer expects."

While Toyota's local PR team apparently hedged on Tada's statements, essentially saying that nothing was guaranteed just yet, Toyota has confirmed elsewhere that the sporty coupe will get a second act. The next-generation 86 (along with its Subaru twin, the BRZ) might ride on a variant of Toyota's New Global Architecture, as Subaru's equivalent has been engineered as a dedicated all-wheel-drive platform.

If true, it remains to be seen what this would mean for the 86's powertrain, which is currently sourced from Subaru because it mates up nicely with the modified Impreza platform underpinning both models. Rumors pointed toward a naturally aspirated version of Subaru's new 2.4-liter boxer engine, which would be an upgrade from the current 2.0-liter engine, at least on paper. The turbocharged variant of this engine is used in the new Subaru Ascent and Outback.

If a switch is made to Toyota's architecture, it would likely be powered by a variant of the company's longitudinal 2.0-liter engine found in turbocharged form in several U.S.-spec Lexus cars. As Toyota and Subaru have been hesitant to employ forced induction in their entry-level sports coupes, we suspect it would ditch the turbo if it were to be tapped for the role.

The new Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are expected to bow in 2021, so it's only a matter of time before details start to leak out.