Six secrets of Supra

When the covers were whipped off the Toyota GR Supra Racing Concept at the 2018 Geneva motor show, the world took notice.

The first new Toyota Supra in 15 years took centre stage and it was as if Toyota emphatically ditched its cardigan once and for all — and ripped its shirt off too.

As one of the world's biggest car-makers returns to its performance car roots, the new Toyota Supra will take pride of place as its flagship sports car.

One step up from the Toyota 86 and designed for racetrack punishment, the new A90 Supra adheres to the classic sports car template with a few twists, just for good measure.

BMW Power

The new fifth-generation Toyota Supra will break from tradition by adopting an engine from German prestige brand BMW.

In an interview at Geneva, Toyota's chief sports car engineer Tetsuya Tada explained that BMW was chosen as a partner to co-develop the car (alongside the new BMW Z4) primarily because it could supply inline six-cylinder engines.

"Straight-six engines have been popular but now there are only a few companies that adopt straight-six engines because they are so long and they are difficult to fit in a sports car package," Tada said.

"That was the background and that was how we converged into the Supra concept."

It's not yet clear which six-cylinder engine the Supra will get but reports out of Japan – and logic – suggest BMW's tried-and-tested 3.0-litre turbo six is on the cards.

Power and torque could be around 250kW/450Nm and the company has also confirmed a four-cylinder engine is on the cards for the new Supra.

Along with a BMW-supplied platform and engine, the car’s suspension will be BMW-derived, too. However, all will be tuned by Toyota to impart a genuine Japanese twist.

On sale mid-2019

The burning question – when is it on sale? – has been answered.

Although Toyota has been notoriously cagey on where it's being built and when, Toyota Australia's sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley confirmed it will be hit showrooms in mid-2019.

"Supra is a very exciting car… The vehicle will be launched mid-way through next year," he said.

Prototypes have been spotted testing on public roads and blasting around the Nurburgring in Germany – with what appears to be production-ready sheet metal – for past 18 months, so we could see a reveal at the 2018 Paris show in October.

How much? That’s anyone’s guess at this stage, but the entry-level turbo-four could be as cheap as Ford’s $50,000 Mustang four-cylinder and the turbo-six could top the Mustang V8 at up to $80K.

Automatic only? Not so fast

There is hope for a manual yet! Online chatter of Toyota only offering an automatic transmission with the Supra has upset many purists. According to Tada-san, however, the engine type has been locked in, but not the transmission. Even so, his sentiments were hardly convincing…

"I did receive many similar questions regarding what kind of transmissions we are thinking of. My answer is we are currently testing many different types of transmissions to see what will be the best to come," he said.

Given that everyone knows manuals are best, it's fait accompli, surely?

Hybrid… and beyond

Toyota has more hybrids than just about any brand and when it entered onto a technical partnership with BMW in 2012, electrification was a big part of the deal.

Tada says Toyota is considering all options and we could even see a high-output capacitor hybrid as seen on its Le Mans race car. The Supra could even bring advances in combustion engine tech. Water injection or electric compressor, anyone?

"We are looking into options of hybrid and evolved versions of gasoline engines – we are looking at all options," Tetsuya Tada told us at the Geneva motor show.

Fast and furious

When the modern-day Nissan Skyline R35 launched in 2007 it was supposed to be impossible for aftermarket companies to tune the engine for even more power (that was later disproven).

Toyota has gone on the front foot and said the engine that powers the born-again Supra will be a hale and hearty air pump for enthusiasts to work on, not unlike the A80 Toyota Supra's 2JZ-GTE inline six.

Toyota has locked in the first engine that will ship in the first A90 Supra and Tada says it will be a very reliable unit. Toyota's sports car boss said it had to be able to withstand the same levels of punishment previous generation Supras dealt with.

Strictly a two-seater

Built by BMW, most likely at an Austrian plant, the Supra will have just two seats, Tada-san confirmed. It is also likely to sit on a wheelbase shorter than the popular 86’s.

The sizing and layout of the Supra has already prompted questions around if and what category it will race in. To this end, Tada-san confirmed the Supra is destined for circuit use around the world, hinting at GTE-specification machine suitable for WEC events including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Closer to home, stakeholders are eyeing off GT racing including the popular Bathurst 12 Hour event.