The twin of the BMW Z4 that will be made by Magna Steyr’s in Graz, Austria, the alleged announcement was made on Toyota Germany’s Facebook page, which also confirmed that pre-orders for the first 900 units, through the Supra 900 Club, have started taking place at an initial deposit of €1 000.
Based on details released on the Toyota Germany website, the Supra will come powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six, likely sourced from BMW, that will produce “over 300 horsepower” (221kW), have an acceleration sprint time from 0-100km/h in five seconds, a 50/50 weight distribution and an Active Limited Slip Differential.
According to a recent by Australia’s caradvice.com.au last month following a stint behind the wheel of the pre-production model, the Supra will not only feature an entry-level engine likely to be the same 2.0-litre turbo as the Z4, but possibly also a manual gearbox exclusively for right-hand drive markets despite this being previously denied on a number of occasions by Chief Engineer, Tetsuya Tada.
“This is not yet finally decided [introduction of a manual transmission], and depending on feedback from the market, we will decide if we should introduce a manual transmission," Assistant Chief Engineer Masayuki Kai told the online publication.
“We have developed (a manual gearbox), yes, there is hardware ready. Right-hand drive? Yes, of course. It needs to be sold in Japan, which is a right-hand drive market”.
He also revealed that the Supra could be offered as a convertible as well given that the Z4, for now, would only be sold as a drop-top.
“If BMW wants to make a coupe, it's their own decision. There is no restriction – for example, if we want, we can also make an open roof Supra. But, this is currently not being investigated. Never say never, everything is possible,” he remarked.
In a further development, Supra lead tester driver Herwig Daenens told the Aussie publication that the revived model, which will carry the internal designation A90, will come with a Drift mode and feature the ability to have all of the electronic aids turned off completely when in Track mode.
“It is a combination of settings that you configure and unlock this mode. There is a normal mode and you combine it with ESC on and off. With a short push it's traction off, which allows you to have more slip angle. It activates later,” he said.
With a reported weight of some 1 496kg, the A90 will be tick the scales at some 14kg less than the A80 that went out of production in 2002, and reportedly measure 4 380mm in overall length, with a wheelbase of 2 470mm, height of 1 290mm and width of 1 855mm.
