The 2020 Supra Stakes Its Claim
The Japanese Super GT race series displayed many eras of Toyota Supra racing at the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon to celebrate the arrival of the 2020 Toyota Supra.
For a time, the new Toyota Supra seemed to be the only subject covered by automotive news on social media. The was enormous excitement about the new sports car leading up and following the official unveiling at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI in January 2019.
During its seven-year development program, Toyota collaborated with BMW to resurrect its beloved Supra nameplate. Japanese car enthusiasts are divided on the results, with people either loving the new version or hating it; there are few in between. But Toyota is obviously banking its performance future on the star of both the Detroit Auto Show and the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon – and ENEOS, the original JDM Motor Oil has products to protect the new Supra’s high-revving inline-6.
At the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota Gazoo Racing displayed its GR Supra Super GT Concept. This is a design exercise that will eventually morph into the team’s entry in Japan’s 2020 Super GT championship. As the country’s premiere grand touring car racing series, racing aficionados will know Super GT emerged from the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC. The series is now heading into a historic partnership with the European Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) to race together, starting with a pair of joint events later this year.
The Gazoo Supras won’t be ready until 2020, but the GR Concept reminded fans of Toyota’s commitment to motorsport. And to further remind everyone of its storied past, there was a display of many previous Supras that had competed in the JGTC. These included the famous Fujitsu Ten MkIII and Denso MkIV.
Days later in Detroit, the US production version of the Supra made its grand entrance. Suddenly it was real; the months of hype, teaser images, concepts and camouflaged mules led to this moment. Like its A80 predecessor, the global-market 2020 Toyota Supra A90 is a front-engine, rear-drive coupe and uses a 3.0-liter DOHC 24-valve turbocharged inline-six. This time, it’s all-aluminum, though, (the revered 2JZ engine from the previous generation had an iron cylinder block). It makes 335hp at 5000rpm and 369 lb-ft of torque at 1600rpm.
The very first vehicle off the assembly line sold for a remarkable $2.1 million at a Barrett-Jackson auction, with the money going to charity. Fans rejoiced.
The introduction of the 2020 Supra caps off a decade where Toyota made its commitment to sporty vehicles perfectly clear. It began with the screaming V10-powered Lexus LFA in 2010, which was followed by the fun, entry-level 86 coupe in 2012. And now Toyota revives one of the most iconic names in JDM history – let the performance wars continue!
Images courtesy of superstreetonline.com