Toyota wants you to go racing in its GR Supra GT4, which is making its debut as a concept as part of the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. If you do grab one of these turnkey racers—and should Toyota follow through and build it—you could rub doors in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport class with Porsche Caymans, Mercedes-AMG GTs, Aston Martin Vantages, Ford Mustangs, and more
Details are sparse right now, but Toyota is emphasizing mass reduction, not horsepower. “The GR Supra Concept is even more lightweight than the commercial Toyota Supra,” with a low center of gravity and high rigidity, the automaker says in a release, “and is equipped with race-specific parts such as its roll cage, suspension, brakes, and rear wing.”
The Toyota Supra is of course twinned with the new BMW Z4 and roadgoing models are powered by BMW’s 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six. It’s rated for 335 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque, and Toyota worked with BMW to develop the sports car’s architecture. The Supra GT4 is 175.6 inches long, 73.0 inches wide, and 49.2 inches tall, which is longer, lower, and wider than the street version.
In North America, the GT4-spec GS class is in some ways the run-what-you-brung part of IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge series, as it accepts both factory-built race specials and team-built cars based on production models. While the Supra GT4 is shown as a concept, it’s pretty clearly headed for “national and regional competitions in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania,” as Toyota says in its release. “Customers can participate in various races around the world by purchasing commercially available racing-specification cars that have been specially tuned for performance.”
Toyota already has announced the Supra will be its entry in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, against the Chevrolet Camaro SS and Ford Mustang GT, and that a version will also compete in this year’s Nürburgring 24 Endurance Race. The new MkV Supra also debuted, of course, as a race car concept. Clearly Toyota is serious about racing this thing, and with the GT4 you could be, too.
We don’t yet know whether a factory Toyota GR Supra GT4 might be ready in time for this year’s IMSA GT4 series, or whether customers will have to wait until 2020, but look for more details about the turnkey racer concept as we cover the 2019 Geneva Motor Show March 5 and 6.
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