The Toyota Supra is back after 17 years

After many years of hints, ‘‘leaks’’ and teasers, Toyota has finally revealed the all new Supra at the Detroit motor show.

The return of the iconic nameplate is something that enthusiasts have been clamouring for ever since the last Supra went out of production 17 years ago and, while it is pretty much a BMW underneath, the new version looks suitably aggressive, is rear-wheel drive and is powered (in top-spec form at least) by a powerful turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine. Just like a Supra should be.

The new Supra is the first global model of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR road-going sports car series and the company says that ‘‘the knowledge and know-how it has built up over the years have been funneled into bringing the Supra back to life’’.

As such, the new Supra’s official model designation is ‘‘GR Supra’’, in honour of the racing team’s input into its development.

Toyota calls the new car’s design ‘‘Condensed Extreme’’, meaning that the focus was on a short wheelbase, big wheels, a wide stance, and a long, low hood.

As such, the new car is 135mm shorter than the last-generation SZ Supra, with an 80mm shorter wheelbase (which is also 100mm shorter than the current 86). It is, however, both fractionally wider (by 54mm) and taller (by around 20mm depending on model) than the 4th-gen car.

Weight is down slightly over the previous model, while power is supplied by not only the expected 3.0-litre inline six, but also two versions of BMW’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine.

The Japanese-market base 2.0-litre SZ gets a 145kW/320Nm version of the turbo-four, while the SZ-R packs a 190kW/400Nm version.

The top-spec RZ gets the BMW 3.0-litre turbocharged inline six that pumps out 250kW of power and 500Nm of torque. All engines are hooked up to an 8-speed automatic transmission, which will be the only shifter available for now. While Toyota initially said it wasn’t interested in developing a manual transmission for the Supra, it has recently let slip a few hints that it could. Maybe.

In a break from tradition, the Supra will not be built in Japan, rather it will be built in Austria by Magna Steyr.

While the external styling is all Toyota, inside the BMW Z4 underpinnings become far more obvious, but not in a bad way - the interior is pure BMW.

While not sporting the latest version as the BMW Z4, the Supra nonetheless uses a high percentage of previous-gen BMW switchgear and controls, right down to the gear lever and a barely-disguised version of the German company’s iDrive infotainment interface.

But the Supra’s BMW roots surely wont hurt its main aim in life which, according to Toyota is being ‘‘a car that people the world over will find fun to drive.’’

‘‘Back in the day, I spent countless hours driving an old Supra at Nurburgring to become a master driver,’’ said Toyota President Akio Toyoda.

‘‘Supra is like an old friend that holds a special place in my heart. While other manufacturers were putting their beautiful new prototypes which they were going to introduce through the paces, I was driving an old Supra that was no longer in production.

‘‘So even though Toyota had no plans to make a new Supra, just like a lot of other die hard Supra fans around the world, I secretly wanted to make it happen.

‘‘The new GR Supra was born through testing at Nurburgring, and I can honestly say that it is a car that is fun to drive and better than ever.’’

SUPPLIED It’s been a long wait, but Toyota has finally officially unveiled the production version of the new 5th generation Supra.