GENEVA: The much anticipated Supra successor has been revealed albeit in concept form.
The GR Supra Racing Concept makes its world debut here, signalling Toyota's commitment to bring back its most iconic sportscar. It also shows the future potential for a car that can deliver high performance on road and track.
The prototype Supra is currently undergoing further testing before Toyota signs off on its production form. Toyota and BMW are using a new platform that the latest Supra and the upcoming Z4 sports car are using as a way to hasten development and reduce production costs.
Close to production
While what we are seeing now is the concept car, Toyota could be saving the final cut for the New York Motor Show later this month. It won't be a surprise if a hybrid is among the powertrain options.
Although it's too early to talk pricing, Forbes had reported that the Supra could start selling at US$50,000 (RM195,000), meaning it will compete with the Mercedes SLC Roadster and Chevrolet Corvette. The Supra is positioned above the Toyota 86, which is seeing waning sales in the United States.
A compact, two-door car, the GR Supra Racing Concept has a front-engine/rear-wheel drive configuration and makes use of advanced lightweight materials in its construction.
Created by Toyota's motorsports arm, Toyota Gazoo Racing, the concept expresses the "fun to drive" quality that Toyota president Akio Toyoda has exhorted the company to achieve.
The large "90" race number on its doors is a historical reference to Supra's codename and a big visual clue to the fact that this concept heralds Supra's return in a fifth generation.
The racing concept has a dramatic bodywork design that includes a large rear wing. It makes extensive use of strong but lightweight composite material for elements such as the wide front and rear bumpers, front splitter and rear diffuser, side skirts, door mirror housings and the rear wing.
The bonnet is crafted from the same material and features louvred air inlets. The windscreen and side windows are made of plastic.
The concept's chassis features lowered front and rear suspension using original equipment (OE) components. BBS racing wheels with centre-nut attachment are fitted with Michelin racing tyres. The braking system uses Brembo Racing callipers and discs and there is a racing exhaust.
The cabin is competition-focused and is fitted with a racing dashboard and OMP driver's seat and safety harness. OMP has also supplied the quick-release steering wheel, mounted on a racing column and equipped with a paddle shift system. The doors are lined with carbon fibre panels and the dashboard includes a racing display.
Bred on race tracks
Competition safety requirements are met by a full roll cage and fire extinguishers, and the fuel and brake lines, pedal box, battery and wiring looms are all designed to competition standard.
The GR Supra Racing Concept is to be featured in a new update of the Gran Turismo Sport video game, developed by Polyphony Digital Inc., and scheduled for release in April 2018.
Toyota Gazoo Racing first competed in Europe in 2007 (as Gazoo Racing). It began a long association with the Nürburgring 24 Hours with two Toyota Altezza cars (equivalent to the first generation Lexus IS) and a team comprising drivers and mechanics who were Toyota employees.
Toyota Gazoo Racing, has claimed two victories during its first season in the FIA World Rally Championship and won five rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Its new vehicle development programme has produced the Yaris GRMN performance hatchback, the latest in a successful series of performance-focused GR-branded cars and the first GRMN model to be developed and built in Europe.
A fabled past
The Supra name evokes power, performance and handling that defined a succession of world-class cars for a quarter of a century. As a true sports car, the Supra built a reputation both as a formidable performer on the road and as an all-conquering machine on the racetrack, dominating Japan's top-level GT racing series and earning legions of fans.
The Supra still enjoys an iconic status among sports car aficionados, 16 years from the end of production. Its enduring popularity has been helped by its success as a popular model in the Gran Turismo driving simulator video game, and as a starring car in the first film in The Fast and the Furious global action movie series.
The Supra badge first appeared in 1978 on a larger and more powerful version of the second generation Celica before becoming established as a successful model in its own right.
Known as the A40, the original Supra was followed by three further generations: the A60 in 1981, A70 in 1986 and A80 in 1993.
The front engine/rear-wheel drive GT sportscar remained in production until 2002, and in its final generation it was Toyota's most powerful production model.
The Supra's reputation was greatly enhanced by its success in motorsport. Most notably, the fourth generation Supra, introduced in 1993, became the dominant force in the All-Japan GT racing?today's Super GT series?winning the GT500 class four times.
The Toyota Supra also competed in American IMSA sportscar racing in the 1980s and twice appeared at Le Mans in the 1990s.
