The Repco Supercars Championship will expand to three models for the 2026 season and the Toyota Supra is one of the most revered nameplates in the motoring world.
Walkinshaw Andretti United will re-introduce the Supra to Australian touring car racing next year, but the model line has been around since 1978 lasting five generations.
The first generation of the Supra was the A40/A50 came into being following a push from North American dealers to offer a rival to Datsun’s 280Z.
Based on its established Celica sports car, Toyota based the Supra on this except for the longer front-end to fit the inline six-cylinder M family motor also fitted it to its luxury Crown variant.
Offered with either W50 five-speed manual or an A40D four-speed automatic were offered during the first generation’s three year run.
The second generation A60 was released in 1981 and was named the Celica Supra, but featured different design cues related to the front end, pop-up headlights in addition to the increased width and length due to the inline six-cylinder motor.
This is the model developed for Group A racing where it was driven by Barry Sheene in the British Touring Car Championship and later Peter Williamson in a competitive run locally.
In 1986, the A70 was released following the split of the Celica and Supra models.
Celicas went to a front-wheel-drive layout, while Supra retained the rear wheel format as Toyota’s premium sports car offering.
Power was upped before turbocharging became available in 1987 to the new 7M-GE powerplant and the latter 7M-GTE was the first distributor-less engine using coil packs on the cam covers and a cam position sensor driven by the exhaust camshaft.
ABS and TEMS (Toyota Electronic Modulated Suspension) technology was added to provide handling improvements in addition to ACIS (Acoustic Control Induction System) to increase power through controlled air compression pulses inside the intake piping.
The iconic targa top was also introduced in this model range.
Again, Toyota went Group A racing with the A70 although it was beset by a lack of power and proved too heavy compared to its rivals. In fact, Alan Jones gave the A70 its first win in Japan.
Despite it not quite meeting the grade in touring cars, the Supra proved a dominant force in production car racing by clean-sweeping the top five results in the championship and winning the inaugural Bathurst 12 Hour.
The fourth generation is one of the most remembered worldwide due to its starring role in the first Fast and the Furious movie in 2001.
By then, the model was already eight years old and the fanbase surrounding the A80 Supra was high due to its ability to modify at the height of the JDM tuning scene.
Featuring a smoother body, the Supra shared the subframe, suspension and drivetrain from the Z30 Soarer as Toyota’s emphasis on high performance came to the fore.
Headlined by the addition of Toyota’s much revered 2JZ engine and twin-turbocharging ensured a strong starting package for tuners.
Getrag provided the V160 gearbox on the turbo models, with Toyota also putting the Supra through a weight-loss program in the midst of a battle between all the Japanese manufacturers in the sports car stakes.
Supra production ended in 2002 and the model was subsequently dropped.
Toyota’s reinvigoration of its performance brand led to the production of the J29 (or in marketing A90 and A91) Supra in 2019 in a collaboration with BMW.
Toyota Gazoo Racing has produced performance models and options, with the Supra the top of the range.
BMW platform and engines are used for the Supra, while it is also produced in the same Austrian factory as the Z4.
Production of this model is due to end this year.
Australian fans will welcome the Supra in 2026 in a committed Toyota attack on its maiden Repco Supercars Championship crown.