Toyota and BMW have been working with each other for a couple of years to develop a rear-wheel-drive based coupe that will be sporty. This has been known and has been the source of a rumormill that has been going on forever. Toyota caved in recently and (finally) admitted that the name chosen for the car was the one that fans always wanted. But we don’t think anyone who was looking forward to the return of the Toyota Supra could have seen this bit of news coming: it’s going racing at NASCAR and will be driven by both Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell. Designed with the assistance of Toyota Racing Development and Calty Design Research to be legal for NASCAR specifications, the Supra will hit tracks starting at the season opener at Daytona for 2019.
Unlike the Camry which it replaces, the Supra nameplate has racing pedigree. Supras have been professionally raced in drifting, many different forms of touring car classes (including Japan’s JGTC/Super GT series), IMSA, rally racing, Australian Production Car Championship racing, and drag racing. And that’s before you get into the mythical lore of the Supra itself, which for better or worse can trace it’s roots back to the original Fast and Furious movie as Brian’s “ten second ride” offering, one of the poster cars that drew in moviegoers. The name holds weight, but does it work for NASCAR? Both Toyota and the drivers are hopeful, with Busch saying, “Supra is an iconic cool car, and to have it racing in NASCAR to highlight Supra’s return speaks to how important this is.”
The A90 Supra will show face for the first time sans camouflage at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which runs July 12-15, 2018.
Nascar is withering on the vine with only a few track venues full each season. They have just now began dropping the ticket prices, moreover in the last decade removing grandstand seating, lots of it . everywhere.
the “truck” series should be about to fold soon due to no fans and the new “spec” engine everyone has to run making teams leave.
Really wish Toyota would spend their efforts on building some that would make them a boatload of money…. AKA a new FJ 4×4 series, this time make sure the damn top comes off !! ( give Jeep a run for the money not some fake race car series )
This car is a double edged sword to me. On one hand it looks like a production car that has been modified for racing- not a spec car that just has stickers on it to discern the make. That is a right step toward regaining interest for NASCAR (and frankly could be one that they have been making but I missed as I don’t watch it anymore). On the other hand, it is a Toyota. That may be good as most younger people are less “Murica!” oriented when it comes to cars, but to us older folks that were raised on the big 3 (i.e. NASCAR’s fan base), it is a turn off.
As one of the younger guys (maybe) – I’m thinking that if NASCAR allows something on track claiming to be a Supra, it ought to be required to run an overhead cam, inline six too. Seriously – give it some sort of displacement adjustments, and it ought to be interesting.
Soundtrack suggests that’s not going to happen, though.
Built to NASCAR “specification” means the package has to be much faster than Ford ….and only somewhat faster than Chevrolet.
I’ve been telling my grandchildren about the last year that Ford was allowed to win the manufacturer’s trophy. I am sure they will tell their children the same story about the same year.
Ford should get out of the series as their participation is a negative and the
NASCAR Toyota series sucks as verified by track attendance and TV viewers
….bored by 34% advertising content and constant breaks to to the SAME commercial.