There is still some time to wait before Toyota reveals the all-new Supra at the 2019 Detroit Motor Show. But this didn’t prevent Gazoo Racing – the firm’s motorsport division responsible for developing the car – from allowing us to drive a lightly-disguised prototype in the hills above Madrid earlier this month.
The camouflage wrap does a good job of disguising the more intricate details of the Supra’s coupe body. Yet closer inspection reveals an aggressive design carrying a number of motorsport- inspired styling touches, such as the cooling ducts, double-domed roof, aero wings and a rear diffuser incorporating a very cool LMP1-inspired high-intensity light. This is deliberate, too, because Toyota – or rather Gazoo – is also building a GTE-spec Supra race car.
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Gazoo has worked hard on the proportions of the Supra, focusing on achieving a wheelbase-to-track ratio it says is perfectly matched for a sports car.
Combine this with 50:50 weight distribution, achieved by installing the BMW-sourced turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six as far back as possible in the engine bay, and Toyota proudly claims the Supra is a genuine front-mid-engined sports car.
The engine – along with the eight-speed automatic gearbox – is one of only six components the Supra will share with its German half-brother, BMW’s new Z4.
From the moment you sit in the Supra, it feels just right. There’s the sensation of being sat on top of the rear axle (you’re pretty close to doing so) and that rising bonnet stretches out ahead like a sports car of old. Legs straight, steering wheel pulled to your chest, arms bent, and the Supra embraces you. It sounds good, too. The straight-six isn’t theatrically vocal, but has a depth to it that will be alien to Toyota GT86 owners.
First impressions of the Supra are of a precisely-balanced car; its active dampers controlling the pitch and yaw with the polish of a Porsche 718 Cayman. Its steering is linear and clean in its action, allowing you to quickly build confidence in the chassis.
Once loaded, it feels well within its comfort zone, and more than capable of dealing with the around 300bhp Toyota says the Supra’s engine produces. It feels as quick as a Cayman GTS and as precise as an Alpine A110.
We also tried the Supra on track. Here, the steering and chassis flow as one; the latter requiring little correction or additional inputs once you’ve committed to a corner, the former feeling incredibly planted and precise in both medium and high-speed direction changes.
Combine these attributes with Brembo brakes that are powerful and easy to modulate, and the Supra leaves you a little bit in awe of what Toyota and Gazoo have achieved. We wanted it to be good, but perhaps weren’t expecting it to be so involving. It feels like a pure sports car.
From our initial drive, it’s already clear that when we try the finished Supra in production guise next spring, the 718 Cayman, Alpine A110, Audi TT RS and Ford Mustang GT will need to be prepared for a very tough fight indeed.
- Model: Toyota Supra
- Price: £50,000 (est)
- Engine: 3.0-litre 6cyl turbo
- Power/torque: 300bhp/470Nm (est)
- Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: Sub-5.0 seconds (est)
- Top speed: 155mph+ (est)
- Economy/CO2: N/A
- On sale: Summer 2019
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