To be unveiled in Detroit, and due here in the second half of 2019
Many of us have fond memories of the Toyota Supra, a more grown-up version of the Celica in the 90s and a legitimate sports/GT car.
It all began in 1978 with styling clearly derived from the Celica, but longer and wider. In 1986, the Supra became a model in its own right. While the Celica used front wheel drive, the Supra retained rear wheel drive and the engine was uprated to a 3-litre inline six. A turbocharged model appeared in 1987. The model announced in 1993 (the A80) looked like a Celica on steroids and remained in production until 2002.
Toyota today announced that the premiere appearance of the much-anticipated Toyota Supra will be at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, taking place from 14 to 27 January next year.
Although Toyota ceased production of its highly popular flagship sportscar in 2002, it was revived in the form a GR Supra Racing Concept at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, demonstrating the intention to bring Supra back to the market.
A Supra prototype has already appeared in front of fans at events this year. In July, it made its international debut in prototype form at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK. Earlier this month, Supra also took part in a VLN Endurance Championship race at the Nürburgring in Germany, completing the race as part the vehicle’s development program.
Toyota expects the new Supra to reach Australia in the second half of 2019.
The photo at the top of this article doesn’t give you any idea of what the new Supra will look like (thanks, Toyota!) but when further details are released, we’ll bring them to you. In the meantime, we suggest you look closely at the Toyota FT-HS which made its appearance at the 2007 North American International Auto Show and the more recent FT-1 Concept car that appeared in 2014.