TOKYO: Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in the auto industry, Toyota announced it will premiere its oft-teased and much-anticipated 2020 Supra at the 2019 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, held between Jan 14 and 27.
Although Toyota ceased production of its highly popular and long-loved flagship sports car, Supra, in 2002, it was revived as a “GR Supra Racing Concept” at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show earlier this year, demonstrating Toyota’s commitment to bringing the Supra back to the market.
The prototype of the new Supra has already appeared in front of fans at various occasions this year.
In July, the new Supra made its international debut in prototype form at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Britain. More recently, in October, the Supra also took part in VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring, Race 9 and completed the race, as part of the vehicle’s development activities.
Toyota expects its new Supra to reach worldwide markets in the first half of 2019.
The Supra was built in collaboration with BMW for economies of scale, sharing chassis and other components with the new Z4 roadster, which made its world premiere at Pebble Beach in August. The two cars have previoulsy been spotted together undergoing dynamic testing at the legendary Nurburgring.
Toyota Supra chief engineer Tetsuya Tada with five generations of Supra.
Though they share the underlying hardware, both car makers are determined to ensure their cars will drive differently from each other. Unlike the Z4 roadster with a retractable soft-top, the Supra will only be designed as a coupe.
Both cars share a turbocharged inline four- and six-cylinder engines.
The production of the Supra and Z4 have been outsourced to Magna Steyr, which will built both of them at its plant in Graz, Austria. The plant also makes the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and the Jaguar E-Pace and I-Pace.
Keyword: New Toyota Supra heads for 2019 Detroit reveal