Toyota Supra Breaks Cover

Toyota Motor Corp. took the wraps off the 2020 Supra sports coupe at this week’s Detroit auto show.

Toyota is reviving the nameplate after a 17-year hiatus. The fifth-generation Supra shares a rear-wheel-drive platform and components with BMW AG’s new Z4 convertible. Both models will be built by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria, starting with the Z4 early this year and the Supra this summer.

The Supra two-seater is the first vehicle developed by the Gazoo Racing subsidiary Toyota launched in 2017. The project was championed by Toyota President Akio Toyoda, who focused development on the car’s performance attributes—including driving prototypes of the vehicle himself on Germany’s famed Nurburgring track.

Toyoda also made a surprise appearance at the Detroit auto show to personally drive the car onto a stage and describe it to reporters.

The Supra matches the Z4’s 97-inch wheelbase and 63-inch width. But the Toyota model stretches about two inches longer from bumper to bumper than its Bimmer counterpart.

Toyota says the Supra’s 3,400-lb weight is evenly split between the front and rear of the car. This is combined with a low center of gravity, wide track and short wheelbase to improve driving dynamics, the carmaker notes.

Design cues such as the car’s long hood and bubble roof pay tribute to the 1960s-era Toyota 2000GT. There also are styling nods to the fourth-generation Supra. The new model features prominent curved rear wings, which Toyota claims approach the limits of what can be manufactured at high volume.

Power comes from a BMW-sourced turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine, which also is used in the Z4. But output is de-tuned significantly in the Supra, making 335 hp compared with the Z4’s 382 ponies. Top speed is limited to 155 mph in both cars.

The interior of the Supra sports a 6.5-inch center display and an optional 8.8-inch screen on higher end models. The Z4 is highlighted by a standard 10.25-inch touchscreen. BMW also will offer a valet assistant that will allow users to remotely back the car up 150 feet from where it was parked.