It’s finally real: The Toyota Supra name is back and headed to production, and we have our first peek at the car in the metal. Well, okay, maybe not the car, meaning the one you’ll be able to buy sometime next year from someone in pleated khakis and a Toyota golf shirt, but the racing version that will be campaigned soon in, we assume, various global GT series. (The car also will be available in a forthcoming update for Gran Turismo Sport on PlayStation 4.)
Sixteen years after the Mark 4 Supra went out of production, this concept car proves the company’s intent to bring back the nameplate. We’ve been teased and tortured with a few scant details on the roadgoing model over the past couple of years, but we do know that the Supra draws much from the FT-1 concept of 2014 and that it is the fruit of a sports-car partnership with BMW that will also produce the next Z4. It will thus share much with that Bimmer, a model that is expected to come to market first.
Leaked specs indicate the BMW-developed turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine is expected to make 335 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, which should provide plenty of grunt in the tidily packaged Supra. Unfortunately, an automatic transmission will handle shifting in the streetable Supra; a manual option will be available only in the BMW. (Update: Not so fast—we’ve learned that a stick is still possible, along with a whole lot more about the fifth-gen Supra. Read more here.) As an additional kick in the shin, the Supra race car features three pedals.
The race car confirms the basic styling and proportions we’ve seen in spy photos, and we’re pleased to see the prominent central bulge on the hood—a trademark of the Mark 4—appear here. Indeed, strip away the dive planes, Play-Doh Fun Factory extruded rear diffuser, massive flares, and Wright Flyer rear wing, and you can see the production car hiding underneath. The ducktail trunklid spoiler, front air-intake configuration, greenhouse, and fender contours all speak to the future Supra road car.
Among the racer’s interesting details is the single center exhaust pipe located prominently in the rear bumper, which would be a cool, unique touch if it survives to production. The race number, 90, is a reference to the car’s internal A90 development code—previous Supras were the A40, A60, A70, and A80—and the car is of course packed to the gills with carbon fiber, including the hood, splitter, diffuser, mirror caps, side skirts, wing, and bumpers. Center-lock wheels are wrapped in Michelin rubber, and the Supra racer has a full roll cage and fire-extinguisher system. Inside, it’s a typically stripped-out competition machine, although we do get a preview of the likely location for the street model’s infotainment screen on the top of the dash.
For all the hype and excitement surrounding the debut of this car, there remain many, many questions left unanswered, not the least of which is what will power this racer. But if the race car can make as much of an impact on the track as it has by simply existing, the particulars may not matter much. For now, the most important thing is that the Supra is most definitely back.
Get the Best Deal on a Toyota Supra
Source : caranddriver