The beginnings of Toyota Supra Supercar

Six years before the bombshell Toyota dropped, AUTO ACTION looked at the possibility of the Japanese giant racing Gen3 when the Supra was revealed.

Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia could lead to a reborn Supra in Supercars, but not without big changes to the rules.

Toyota Australia has returned to major motor sport with the launch of a new performance brand that could lead to a racing program with the reborn Supra.

Amid speculation that the new Supra is a potential base for a Supercars racer, the Japanese giant is re-entering the Australian Rally Championship under the banner of Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia.

To be eligible for Supercars, the compact and lowline Supra would require a big rewrite of the technical rules.

But Toyota Australia is not ruling out Supercars in the future or racing the Supra in some form.

Gazoo Racing is Toyota’s global motor sport entity and the inspiration for its new GR performance line, which in Australia will be led by the all-new fifth-generation Supra.

The cover of Auto Action issue #1749 about the Toyota Supra.

G is Toyota’s new-look equivalent of Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s M, and the TGRA ARC program is a pointer to the brand coming to Australia.

The A90 Supra, to be released here in late 2019, will be the first Toyota model in Australia to carry the GR designation. Other hot GR versions of the top-selling Hi-Lux and Corolla, and the 86, are likely to follow.

Persistent pit lane chatter suggests Toyota Australia, which is by far the market leader, is seriously eying a Supercars entry, especially as hybrid technology is a real possibility for the Next Generation evolution of the technical and eligibility rules.

Formerly known as Gen, the Next Gen rules are nominally due for introduction in 2022, but elements – or even all – of the updates could be introduced sooner.

As well as its tiny road car dimensions – it has a shorter wheelbase than the 86, for example – the new Supra is disqualified from Supercars because it is a two-seater.

The existing rules require eligible two-door models to be four-seaters, no matter how vestigial the rear pews may be.

But if Toyota were to indicate serious interest in entering Supercars with the Supra, there is little doubt the rules would be changed to accommodate Australia’s top-selling car maker.

In addition to a seating concession, changing the roll cage dimensions is not out of the question as the awkward look of the Mustang Supercars racer – the first two-door in the modern era of Australian touring car ed racing – has prompted a review to more easily accommodate coupes.

There is no hope of the Supra – or the squat-roofed Chevrolet Camaro, for that matter – complying with the current Gen2 regulations, but serious consideration is likely for the Next Generation evolution Even more than the Mustang or Camaro, the Supra is too low and too short for its swoopy shape to be stretched over the existing Supercars control chassis, without strangely altering the road version’s proportions.

Auto Action understands that the rule-making Supercars Commission has been urged to seriously consider altering the control chassis dimensions for ‘Next Gen’ to allow GT coupes like the new Supra.

That is as much a philosophical discussion as a technical debate, but if it were to mean attracting Toyota’s participation – the Holy Grail of Supercars for more than 15 years – there’s little doubt the necessary rule changes would be approved.

In any event, a GT racing version of the Supra – already flagged by the G Racing Concept show car – could interest Toyota Australia in a factory entry for the Bathurst 12 Hour.

The introduction of the GR brand to Australia has prompted a more serious look at Toyota’s local motor sport involvement.

In addition to the Toyota 86 Racing Series, which will get a low-key alignment with the new GR brand next year as well as actively promoting the involvement of female drivers, the company will officially return to motor sport with a factory team in the Australian Rally Championship.

Under the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia banner, long-time Toyota Australia rally entrant and multiple Australian champion Neal Bates will run a pair of AP4 Yaris in next years ARC.

TGRA will make its official debut in this weekend’s final round of the ARC, run concurrently with the WRC finale on the Coffs Coast in NSW, with Harry Bates in contention to win the local title in his Yaris.

At the launch of TGRA in Sydney, Toyota Australia chief marketing officer Wayne Gabriel wouldn’t rule out some sort of Supra racing program in the long-term, while stressing that nothing had been planned.

“We will explore anything,” Gabriel told Auto Action.

“There are no plans at this point in time. We have our commitment locally for rally and for the 86 series, plus we have a small arrangement with Beau Yates in drifting, but to say there isn’t potential for us to do something with Supra in the future is not correct.

“I mean, there’s always opportunity, but there’s nothing formal at this point in time.”

Gabriel added that as the spearhead for the GR brand’s local introduction, the Supra’s performance credentials were already well. established.

“We’re fortunate enough that Supra is in itselficonic.” he said.

“So the Supra brand itself will no doubt carry a lot of weight.

“Whether or not we’d choose to take it to the next level with some motor sport participation is yet to be determined.”

As for the chances of a Supra-bodied V8 racer, Gabriel reiterated TA’s long-running stance that competing in Supercars was not being actively considered.

The real Toyota GR Supra Supercar coming in 2026. Image: Supplied

However, he allowed that the company maintained a watching brief on Supercars and its potential as a marketing tool.

“We always consider those sorts of things,” he said. “We would never not consider something like that. But in terms of short-term, our commitment right now is rally and 86 series.”

Gabriel also admitted that Toyota Australia was open to discussions with Supercars once plans to allow petrol-electric hybrid powertrains early next decade, were formalised.

“They haven’t spoken to us and we haven’t had any formal conversations with anybody on that sort of front,” he said. “But being the leader of hybrid technology in Australia – and globally – if something like that were to come across our desk, we’d certainly look at it.”

Gabriel’s boss, Toyota Australia vice-president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley, was even more circumspect about the prospect of racing the new Supra in Supercars even if it could be accommodated by the rules.

“No plans,” Hanley declared to Ad at the media launch of the new RAV4 in California.

“I can categorically tell you that as we launch this Supra in the Australian market and the GR brand, we have no plans for V8 Supercars racing.

“Do I ever rule it out completely? Well, you never say never to anything, but there is certainly no plan.”

Hanley, who looked at running the Lexus RC F in Supercars when he was head of Tovota’s luxury division in Australia, also dismissed strong pit lane rumours that Toyota had done a secret deal with a team to enter in 2020.

“Well, that’s certainly the first I have heard of that.” he said. “And I personally have had no discussions.”

Hanley’s interest in Supercars when he ran Lexus locall was shot down by top management.

He emphasised that Toyota Australia’s current interest in racing was as part of the junior driver development pathway with the Toyota 86 Racing Series.

“We are pretty happy,” Hanley said.

“We have our 86 Racing Series in the V8 Supercars (support program) and we are thrilled with because it builds upon the grass roots.

“It provides drivers with grass roots racing in the hope they might build upon their experience and (ultimately) race in the V8 Supercars.”

It is a theme the company is keen to promote even as TA returns to rallying with an official factory team under the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia banner.

“I personally believe that we can do more for motor sport in Australia by supporting a development pathway, such as Harry and Lewis Bates in rallying or Will Brown and Cameron Hill in the 86 series,” Gabriel explained.

“It gives them the opportunity to go on and be successful. They wouldn’t get that opportunity if it weren’t for something like these series (ARC and T86RS).

“That’s a role we can play, something we can do to help Australian motor sport and potential athletes like Harry and Lewis. Get them on the world stage and, who knows, we might have the next Mark Webber.”

As outlined at the beginning of this post, this was a feature news story that was written by Mark Fogarty, with contributions by Bruce Newton and was published by AUTO ACTION IN 2018…

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