Toyota gambles with revived Supra

DETROIT — After years of teasing, toying and tinkering from Toyota, meet the 2020 Supra: the first Supra in a generation, a two-seat sports car dropped into a global market now dominated by three-row crossovers and giant SUVs.

A Toyota, assembled in Austria, powered by BMW.

Why? Why would one of the most conservative automakers in the world, a global powerhouse of profitability and meticulous product execution, take what is essentially a flier on a two-seat, rear-wheel-drive sports car and introduce it in the middle of winter at the Detroit auto show?

The answer is surprisingly simple: Sometimes in business — despite the overwhelming logic against it — you just have to do what the guy whose name is on the company wants to do.

And Toyota President Akio Toyoda wanted the Supra back in the lineup after a 21-year absence.

Toyota has been hinting at the car's return ever since it partnered with BMW in 2012 on a new sports car and showed the FT-1 concept at the 2014 Detroit auto show. And finally last summer, it said the Supra would return as a race car and production vehicle.

The Supra is the first original product developed by Gazoo Racing Co., which was cleaved off from Toyota in 2017 as an internal subcompany in a reorganization to streamline operations. But it arrives as car demand in the U.S. falls to a decades-low and shows no sign of reversing as consumers snatch up light trucks in record numbers.

"Enthusiasts are finally getting the vehicle they've been salivating over for years with the debut of the new Supra," said Jessica Caldwell, head of analysis at Edmunds. "But the question remains ... will it really do anything to help Toyota attract new buyers. Having a flashy sports car in the window used to be a proven halo to lure buyers into the showroom, but with shoppers prioritizing technology over horsepower, it remains to be seen how long that bait will work."

Other analysts believe the traditional U.S. car market, dominated by sedans, is evolving into specialty niches, such as convertibles, wagons and performance coupes such as the Supra.

With a low center of gravity, wide track and short wheelbase for crisp handling, the 2020 Supra boasts a 50-50 front-rear weight ratio and body rigidity on par with the carbon fiber Lexus LFA. The car is code-named the A90, following the previous A40 through A80 models.

Powered by a twin-scroll turbocharged 3.0-liter I-6 engine from BMW mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, and augmented with direct fuel injection and continuously variable timing on both camshafts, the 3,397-pound 2020 Supra generates 335 hp and 365 pound-feet of torque.

The Supra, built to double as a track car and tested at the Nurburgring by Toyoda himself, features a stiffened rear structure and a new front suspension to improve performance. It also boasts four adaptive dampers as standard equipment that automatically lowers the car 7 millimeters (a little over a quarter inch) as needed for better handling and grip while cornering.

An electronically actuated active differential sends power to either rear wheel as needed for better traction. Stiffer wheel bearings increase rigidity and large-diameter disc brakes with robust four-pot Brembo calipers provide high-strength stopping power.

Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada told Automotive News last month that the Supra's design was begun on purpose at the track, forcing some decisions which otherwise might not make sense in a market where sports car sales are always fickle. Last year, automakers sold just 61,226 compact sporty cars in the U.S., down 17 percent from a year earlier. With deliveries of 28,730, the Subaru WRX accounted for almost half of the volume in the segment last year.

"We focused on making this car as small as possible. It comes in a small package, and the driver can always feel the corners of the four tires," Tada said. "That, in turn, determined the width of the car, which made it impossible for us to create the rear seat. So we have created a two-seater car despite opposition from our sales department."

Toyota killed off the Supra in North America in 1998 but the car remained in production for other markets until 2002. Toyota has struggled with sporty coupes ever since.

The last-generation Supra offered a twin-turbo six that gave what was then near supercar performance of 0-to-60-mph times under 5 seconds and a top speed of more than 150 mph. That car was also pricey, selling for more than $50,000 in 1996, the equivalent of more than $80,000 today.

Toyota says it will go on sale in the summer and will be available in two grades: 3.0 and 3.0 Premium, as well as a limited Launch Edition version of the 3.0 Premium trim.

Pricing for the 2020 Supra starts at $50,920, including shipping, for the 3.0 model. The special launch edition, limited to 1,500 cars, will be priced from $56,180.