Toyota "Preparing" Hotter Supra GRMN, Says Chief Engineer

supraboi

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Gazoo Racing will build its own models, too, in addition to the GR Super Sport hypercar.

Toyota 86 and Supra chief engineer Tetsuya Tada continues to drop hints about the Japanese brand's performance car plans, and in a new interview with Motoring Research he offers a few more tantalizing bits of into about what's in the pipeline for the company. For example, early work is underway on a range-topping Supra GRMN.

The standard Supra will arrive first and go on sale in 2019, according to Tada. Regarding the GRMN version, Tada told Motoring Research: "I would like to see something like that eventually. We are preparing for it”.

Tada also confirms that the Supra shares its inline-six engine and transmission with the next-gen BMW Z4. However, he brushes off concerns that they have identical driving manners. "Each company defined what we wanted and went from there," Tada told Motoring Research. "Both cars have completely different suspension and software calibration, for example."

The Supra will be quite a high-tech machine, too. For example, and app allows drivers to take their car to the track, and then compare the lap times against how recent Le-Mans-winner Fernando Alonsowould perform. It's sort of like racing a ghost car in Gran Turismo in the real world.

The mounting details suggest the range-topping Supra at launch arrives with a BMW-sourced 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six producing 335 horsepower (250 kilowatts) and 369 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters) of torque. It can allegedly accelerate the coupe to 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds. Recent rumors also speculate the US-spec Supra would cost $63,500, and the coupe reportedly weighs 3,300 pounds (1,497 kilograms).

Inside, the Supra allegedly comes standard with a digital instrument panel, head-up display, driver assistance suite, and navigation. A customized version of BMW's iDrive reportedly handles infotainment duties.

The Gazoo Racing brand will be a bigger part of Toyota performance in the future, too. For example, there will be GR and GR Sport variants of the company's models. These versions will put an emphasis on sporty looks rather than improving the vehicles' abilities too much.

Gazoo Racing will also have vehicles of its own like the recently unveiled GR Super Sport hypercar. "We’ll investigate what cars to introduce in-future, but this company set-up shows where we want to go," Tada told Motoring Research.
https://www.motor1.com/news/249504/toyota-supra-grmn-development-rumor/

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2JZ-No-Sh*t

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Emphasis on sporty looks, rather than performance.

What the....
That's Motor1 putting their usual spin on everything. Here is the original source.

https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/supra-grmn-toyota-sports-car/

Hardcore Supra GRMN to lead Toyota sports car fightback

The future may be full of self-driving EVs and, inevitably, more SUVs, but the sports car is alive and kicking. That’s the message from Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer for the brilliant Toyota GT86 and forthcoming Supra – due in 2019.

We caught up with Tada-San at Le Mans, our conversation frequently punctuated by the wail of Toyota’s TS050 Hybrids blasting through Arnage. Here’s what he had to say about the new Supra, Gazoo Racing and why technology is the car enthusiast’s friend.

The new Supra will be a “pure sports car”
The Supra and new BMW Z4 will share a straight-six engine and gearbox, but they aren’t near-identical twins like the GT86 and Subaru BRZ. “Each company defined what we wanted and went from there,” explains Tada. “Both cars have completely different suspension and software calibration, for example.”

Tada insists the Supra “will be a pure sports car – practicality and comfort were almost not considered.” Its styling is partly shaped by the demands of GTE racing regulations, but it will still “look sexy”. The voluptuous rear wings of the GR Racing Supra Concept, revealed at Geneva 2018, are here to stay.

A hot Supra GRMN is coming, too
Following the critically-acclaimed Yaris GRMN hot hatch, will we see a hotter, GRMN-badged version of the Supra? Certainly not at launch, it seems, but Tada doesn’t deny the car is in development.

“I would like to see something like that eventually,” he smiles. “We are preparing for it”.

Gazoo Racing has big plans
Toyota’s sporty Gazoo Racing sub-brand was everywhere at Le Mans, and will soon be far more familiar on the road. As well as full-fat GRMN models, we’ll see GR and GR Sport versions of existing cars. These will major on racy styling rather than outright performance, in the mould of BMW M Sport or Mercedes-Benz AMG Line.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a roadgoing version of the GR Super Sport hypercar concept is in the pipeline, too. “It’s very difficult to make a viable business case for sports cars,” says Tada, “but our young engineers are reaping the benefits of working in Gazoo Racing – and with BMW.”

Technology offers a different kind of driving fun
Many drivers see technology as the enemy when it comes to driving engagement and fun. However, Tada is remarkably upbeat about the role tech can play in future sports cars. “Spearheaded by the Supra, we’ve been working with app developers to use driving data and artificial intelligence in simulations,” he reveals. “It’s one way of getting more people interested in cars and motorsport.”

“You could be driving your Supra on-track, but racing against a virtual Fernando Alonso in real-time.” Sounds like an ego-bruising experience to us, albeit a very clever one…

The Celica and MR2 could make a comeback
The Supra isn’t the only famous Toyota nameplate that could make a comeback. Tada grins when quizzed about a possible return for the Celica and MR2: “I’m often asked that, and we get many requests".

“We’re committed to sports cars and Gazoo Racing means we have more resources for developing them. We’ll investigate what cars to introduce in-future, but this company set-up shows where we want to go.”

When Tada retires, he’ll drive off into the sunset in a Supra
You’d expect a man like Tetsuya Tada to have something special tucked in his garage. In reality, he says, “we only have my wife’s car at home. That’s because I’m always driving test cars, and simply don’t have time for more driving at weekends.”

When Tada retires, however, he’ll do so in his new Supra. “I’ll customise it to exactly how I like it and just enjoy driving it.
 

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edit: no need for what I said...I should just troll here.
 
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supraboi

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https://www.motoradictos.com/toyota-supra-gr-competidor-nissan-gt-r/

The Toyota Supra GR will compete with the Nissan GT-R

The news of the move to the assembly line of the Toyota GR Super Sport Concept impresses, of course. It is the confirmation that the Japanese firm wants to compete in the highest levels globally in terms of sports models and close to competition, and also puts on the table the enormous interest in the international recognition of its sports division, Gazoo Racing .

Gazoo Racing will incorporate between one and two models to almost the entire range of Toyota models, one of the first to receive this (or these) more sporting and radical version will be the new Toyota Supra . As standard, the Japanese coupe will offer a net power of approximately 335 horsepower and 500 nm of torque through the 3.0-liter 6-cylinder in-line BMW origin. The versions of Gazoo Racing (could be called GR and GRMN ) will mark a qualitative jump and in the case of the most powerful, the aspirations will be enormous: main objective, the next Nissan GT-R.

These are big words, yes, but Toyota will try to leave a narrow margin between the new Supra and the GR Super Sport, a difficult task if we consider that the latter will develop almost a thousand horses through a hybrid system. A very similar hybrid system will be the one that carries the new Supra at least in the Gazoo Racing versions, thus confirming unofficially the use of all-wheel drive through the gasoline engine for the rear axle, and a KERS for the front axle. In the case of Supra GRMN, the most powerful, it could climb to an approximate figure of 600 horses , a key point to compete with the Nissan of Japan. At the intermediate point, the Supra GR will be positioned at approximately 480 hp .
 

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Okay, where is A70 to at least confirm or deny and also where is performance sound so he feels he has a reason to keep looking.
 

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The fact that he didn't deny it and says something as vague as "I'd like to see something like that eventually" doesn't confirm at all that one is ever going to be produced unfortunately.

Though the part that stuck out to me was "Each company defined what we wanted and went from there. Both cars have completely different suspension and software calibration, for example." Which leads me to believe the dreaded too heavy and underpowered z4 specs that everyone was griping about are true.

I really, really hope we get some official numbers soon (weight/power/price) to settle the debate
 

Modal170

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The fact that he didn't deny it and says something as vague as "I'd like to see something like that eventually" doesn't confirm at all that one is ever going to be produced unfortunately.

Though the part that stuck out to me was "Each company defined what we wanted and went from there. Both cars have completely different suspension and software calibration, for example." Which leads me to believe the dreaded too heavy and underpowered z4 specs that everyone was griping about are true.

I really, really hope we get some official numbers soon (weight/power/price) to settle the debate
You got some reading to do.
 

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“will be a pure sports car – practicality and comfort were almost not considered.”

this is sad if completely true... I'd like a Supra with some well placed cupholders, seats that I can drive more than 100 miles in and not feel like I broke my back, a cigarette lighter or two for electronics charging, heated seats so I can drive it year round, etc.

If I wanted a 50K car with little to no comfort, I would go for a used Lotus.
 

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At this point, nothing should surprise you.

The only play left for Toyota to ruin this car even more, is to offer only 1 color choice ... Mary Kay Pink.


Emphasis on sporty looks, rather than performance.

What the....
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