SPY PICS: Toyota Supra

The rear-wheel drive coupe you see here hidden beneath psychedelic wallpaper is almost certainly the Mk5 Toyota Supra, and it's shaping up to be highly desirable.

These latest spy photos show off more of the Toyota sports car's design more clearly than ever before, revealing a long bonnet and large front air intakes to feed a turbocharged six-cylinder powertrain.

The new Supra's design has much in common with the FT-1 concept revealed at the 2014 Detroit motor show, including the large front air-dams, sloping snout and a short stubby tail-end.

Tellingly, however, the design appears to create a stylistic link with the fourth-generation Toyota Supra — particularly the headlight design, which will delight JDM fans no end.

Although the Supra name is yet to be officially rubber stamped, Tetsuya Tada, Toyota’s sports car supremo, told motoring.com.au in May 2016 that he's keen on the Supra name.

"It’s exactly the same as the new [Toyota] 86. The [Corolla-based] AE86 was so popular amongst the Japanese and heritage car collectors so we always wanted to use that. It comes down to the same story: Supra has so much history, and it’s so loved," he said.

Ultimately his boss, Toyota global CEO Akio Toyoda, will have the final say, but it's odd on to wear a Supra badge.

Developed in tandem with BMW's upcoming new sports car, which may be badged Z5, the Toyota sports car is expected to be powered by a hybrid powertrain featuring a six-cylinder engine, the latter supplied by BMW as it would cost Toyota too much to develop an all-new six-banger just for this vehicle.

Previous videos of the Toyota sports car testing at the Nurburgring support the six-cylinder speculation, based on the exhaust note evident.

Power output is pure speculation at this stage but because the new Toyota will be the company's flagship sports car anything less than 250kW – unless it's got a lightweight carbon tub – would be challenging to promote.

Both the Toyota Supra and its BMW Z5 sister car are tipped to be built in Austria by bespoke coach-builder Magna Steyr.

Toyota has repeatedly talked about its "three-pillar" sports car assault, which comprises the 86, this new Supra sports car, and one other which could be the MX-5-sized Toyota S-FR.

Whatever the case, it's crystal clear that Toyota has plans to revive its sports car heritage and in the process challenge the conception that it only builds boring, appliance-like cars.

Although details on timing are non-existent, estimated development times put the Supra launch about 18 months away in the first-half of 2018, with the BMW Z5 likely to launch in late 2017 at that year's Frankfurt motor show in Germany.