The news that the Toyota GR Supra will end production in 2025 not surprisingly caused concern for Supercars fans. After all, the Japanese coupe isn’t due to enter the sport until 2026, so does this impact the company’s entrance into local racing?
In a word – no.
Toyota Australia management would have been fully aware before they signed up for Supercars that the Supra (which is actually built in Austria alongside the BMW Z4) was not much longer for this world. Seemingly the problem Toyota Australia might face is that the new GR Supra isn’t officially confirmed yet – even if the company keeps dropping hints – and there’s no public timeline for when it will hit showrooms.
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What we do know is that Toyota is most likely to be taking the design and production of the Supra in-house, rather than working with BMW, and that means it could share its underpinnings with the upcoming new Lexus coupe that’s being prepared for GT3 competition.
The latest reports indicate the next-generation Supra may not arrive until 2027 and could be powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain. Neither of which will be a problem for Toyota’s Supercar program.
The current car is too small for the Gen3 chassis so the body is being dramatically reworked to fit and keep the same proportions, while a racing-spec V8 engine will replace the production cars straight-six, so those are minor hurdles.
The biggest challenge for Supercars will be the potentially awkward situation where the Ford Mustang races against two out-of-production opponents, somewhat undercutting its ‘market relevance’ push with Gen3. Still, that should only be short-lived and, as Ford demonstrated when it switched from the ‘S550’ to ‘S650’ bodies after much of the development work on Gen3 was done with the older model, a change in body is a relatively minor obstacle to overcome.
The biggest headache (in a surprise to no-one) will likely be the homologation process if the new-gen Supra arrives in time for the ‘27 racing season. That will mean going through the process to get the ‘A90’ competitive and then do it all over again with the new body.
One thing that is crystal clear, is Toyota Australia’s commitment to racing the GR Supra. Speaking to Torquecafe at the Bathurst 1000, where a 1:1 scale of the new Supra Supercar was revealed, Toyota Australia boss Sean Hanley confirmed that A90 Supra will race in 2026 and for the foreseeable future.
“The answer to that is very simple; the car you see today, and the brand Supra, will continue,” Hanley said.
“The car you see today will continue for years, and if and when a new model – which I fully expect to happen at some point in the future – we’ll convert over.
“That’s not in the foreseeable years, though. What you see today will continue, and the Supra brand name will continue.”
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