Reborn Toyota Supra to Debut This Week

UPDATE 10/07/2018: Another day, another Supra teaser ... this time the rear-end, alongside the concept.

UPDATE 09/07/2018: Last week Toyota announced its all-new Supra will debut at this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed and this morning it confirmed this camouflaged production prototype will indeed take on the iconic British hill-climb on all four days of the festival, which starts this Thursday (July 12).

Toyota said chief engineer Tetsuya Tada and "master driver" Herwig Daenens will be behind the wheel of its new flagship coupe, which debuted in concept form at Geneva in March and will be launched in Europe in September, before going on sale globally in the first half of 2019.

Toyota Australia vice-president sales and marketing Sean Hanley said that although the company has yet to confirm the new Supra for Australia, it was all but a fait accompli.

"The Supra nameplate commands enormous respect and there has been huge public interest in the development of the new model so we would like to see it on Australian roads," said Hanley.

"It's a car that truly demonstrates Toyota's commitment to building and selling cars that really stir the emotions and deliver superb driving excitement."

06/07/2018: The born-again Toyota Supra supercar will make its production debut at next weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed and its race debut in next year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Toyota made both announcements overnight, when it Tweeted a camouflaged image of the new Supra – which will have its global launch in Europe in September – and revealed the NASCAR version in full.

Given the showroom version of the A90 Supra, which hits Aussie showrooms in mid-2019, remains disguised in the single image released, it’s still unclear whether the final production version will be unveiled in full at Goodwood.

The world-famous classic car show starts on September 12, when Toyota luxury division Lexus will also celebrate 10 years of its F performance brand, so we won’t have to wait long to find out.

But from what we can tell from the shadowy teaser shot, the Supra that us mere mortals will have access to will remain faithful to the racing concept we saw at the Geneva motor show in March.

The NASCAR version, on the other hand, looks more like the race concept and – although it lacks the latter’s big rear wing – it comes complete with gaping lower front air-dams and a massive chin spoiler.

Big aero aside, both motorsport versions of the Supra feature bodywork similar to the production car, given the NASCAR Xfinity Series has allowed bodysells that more closely resemble showroom models since 2011 – even if all cars share the same control tube-frame chassis and 5.8-litre V8.

But while Supra replaces Camry in North America’s second-tier NASCAR series from next year, the Camry will continue to represent Toyota in the top-tier Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Like the ‘minor league’ Xfinity Series and our Supercars championship, the NASCAR Cup also remains a control chassis series, although more than just stickers have differentiated the cars since 2012, when new Gen 6 rules and the Holden Commodore-based Chevy SS were introduced.

Since Toyota entered the Camry in the Xfinity Series in 2007, the Japanese brand has collected four manufacturers’ championships, two drivers’ championships and 147 wins. Toyota is the reigning NASCAR Cup champion.

As the company points out, the original Supra was a serious competitor in a range of race series in the 1980s and '90s, including Super GT in Japan and the IMSA Camel GT series in the US.

The Supra also raced at the Le Mans 24 Hour in 1995 and '96, so it’s logical to expect Toyota to enter its new two-seat sports car flagship in more than just NASCAR – including Australia’s own Bathurst 12 Hour.

No more information about the new front-engined, rear-wheel drive Supra – the first since the fourth-generation A80 ended production in 2002 – has been released.

However, we know the coupe was co-developed with BMW’s next-generation Z4 roadster and will be built alongside eachother at Magna Steyr's factory in Graz, Austria.

Both cars will not only share their platforms and chassis architectures, but the same inline six-cylinder engines.

Developed with Californian-based Toyota subsidiaries, TRD USA and Calty Design Research, the new Toyota Supra NASCAR will make its on-track debut in the NXS race at Daytona on February 16, 2019.

“When you talk Toyota and cool cars, Supra is the first thing that comes to mind for many auto enthusiasts,” said Ed Laukes, group vice president of Toyota Division Marketing.

“Supra’s return in production form is huge news, but now we’re also going to see this iconic sports car return to American motorsport.

“From a marketing perspective, it’s important to have a race car that evokes the dynamism and character of its showroom counterpart. We’re confident we’ve accomplished that with Supra, and we hope racing fans the world over will proudly cheer its success on track.”