While Toyota has already confirmed the new Supra for the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, we were hoping for at least a small sneek peek of the finished car during the LA Auto Show and the company’s executives were aware of it.
Shortly after finishing the presentation of the company’s five new models, Jack Hollis, Toyota USA’s Vice President, decided to have a little fun with the crowd.
“Maybe there’s a sixth car we should tell you about. You might have heard a rumor that we have a new Supra coming. I know that sports car fans around the world have been waiting nearly two decades for this new Supra, so are you finally ready to see it?” said Hollis to the crowd.
“Cameras ready?”, he asked pointing at the screen behind him, only to be followed by a single ‘Supra’ logo.
“Come on! I’m not ready to show that to you yet!”, Hollis said with a smile. “We need you to be with us in Detroit, January 14, at the International Auto Show. I wanted to have some fun with you, because we know this vehicle is coming and we’re excited.”
Production of the new Toyota Supra will begin during the first half of 2019 at Magna Steyr’s factory in Austria, alongside the new BMW Z4. The two models share the same architecture and powertrain but so far the companies claim that they developed and tuned their cars separately from each other.
The new Toyota Supra will be powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six engine with twin-scroll turbochargers, kicking out around 340hp. 0-62mph (100km/h) is expected to be under five seconds, with the chassis featuring goodies such as an adaptive suspension, an active limited-slip differential and a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.