The all new Toyota GR Supra, the fifth generation of Toyota’s legendary sports car and the first global GR model to be produced by Toyota GAZOO Racing, has made its world debut.
Conceived as a sports car in its purest form, the new Toyota
GR Supra builds on the heritage of Toyota’s past Supra generations and the
2000GT sports car with its classic layout of a front-mounted, straight-six
engine driving the rear wheels.
Driving enthusiasts can look forward to an
exhilarating blend of power, agility and precision handling, achieved thanks to
the car’s combination of a short wheelbase and wide track, light weight, low
centre of gravity and highly rigid body.
The 3.0-litre engine benefits from a twin-scroll
turbocharger and produces 250kW and 500Nm of torque. Coupled to an eight-speed
automatic transmission, it is characterised by smooth and powerful
acceleration, with large amounts of torque available across the full range of
engine speeds.
Toyota GAZOO Racing was instrumental in honing the
new sports car’s performance, working extensively on the famous Nürburgring
Nordschleife and surrounding roads in Germany in order to achieve the most
agile, stable and rewarding handling.
Further testing was also carried out on roads around the
world, including in Australia with chief engineer Tetsuya Tada.
To be certain that the car delivered on its
promise, Toyota president Akio Toyoda put it to the test at the Nürburgring in
his role as a master driver before giving it the final green light.
Mr Toyoda said he had developed his craft as a
master driver by spending countless hours driving an old Supra at the
Nürburgring.
“Even though Toyota had no plans to make a
new Supra, just like a lot of other diehard Supra fans around the world, I
secretly wanted to make it happen,” he said.
“The new GR Supra was born through testing at
Nürburgring, and I can honestly say that it is a car that is fun to drive and
better than ever.”
The driver’s cockpit in the new Toyota GR Supra neatly combines traditional GT elements with ultra-modern functionality. Designed to help the driver focus entirely on the business of driving, it is directly influenced by the layout found in single seater race cars.
In side view, the low bonnet generates a dynamic line that
flows rearwards from the car’s low nose, while the back edge of the bonnet and
the rear spoiler are set at almost the same height, linked by a low belt line.
The underbody has a slight forward angle while the
cabin has a strong rearward slant, with blacked-out front pillars and character
lines on the side of the roof emphasising the taut, compact cabin.
Sharp-looking, sturdy sills express the car’s high rigidity.
At the rear, the arching lip spoiler has been
optimised to suppress lift, while a trapezoidal shape to the rear bumper
generates a sense of movement down and out towards the tyres.
In Australia, new Toyota GR Supra will be launched
in late 2019 with approximately 300 cars available in the first 12 months. All
vehicles will be built in Graz, Austria.
