Toyota: New Supra Was Mostly Developed In Japan; Won't Be Cheap

Little by little, the pieces of the 2019 Supra puzzle are falling into place. The latest Toyota representative to talk about the much-awaited revival of the sports car is the Vice President of Research & Development, Gerald Killmann. In an extended interview with AutoRAI covering several topics, he revealed some interesting details about the fifth-generation Supra.

We get to learn the coupe has been mostly developed at home in Japan, with only a minor input coming from Toyota's European R&D team. Killmann went on to mention there will be a race car version of the new Supra, which isn't all that surprising considering the Gazoo Racing-branded concept unveiled last month at the Geneva Motor Show.

He reiterated the new sports car will share the same platform with the BMW Z4, but with a different design inside and out. The interview got more interesting when Killmann revealed the Supra will be powered by a BMW-sourced engine, without going into details. He did say the rumored hybrid powertrain believed to be reserved for a range-topping version is not on the agenda.

As far as pricing is concerned, Toyota's representative told AutoRAI the Supra is not going to be a cheap car, adding there will be a clear difference between it and the more attainable 86. The latter, which kicks off at $26,255 in the United States, will remain the company's affordable sports car. The Supra will be a true performance model that will be offered at a higher price tag to match its higher position in the hierarchy.

As a refresher, Toyota has already announced the new Supra will eschew a manual gearbox for a dual-clutch automatic, and will come with a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. The BMW engine is believed to be a biturbo inline-six with as much as 450 horsepower, but it's only gossip at this point.

Expect to see the reborn Supra this fall, presumably at the Paris Motor Show in October. Production will allegedly take place in Graz, Austria where Magna Steyr will build the coupe alongside the BMW Z4 soft-top roadster.