One year on from the world debut of the GR Supra at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota is announcing details of the first extension of its sports car range with the introduction of a new 2.0-litre turbocharged engine.
Offered in addition to the established 3.0-litre, straight-six turbo unit, this new powerplant will deliver dynamic benefits as well as bringing GR Supra to a wider customer base.
The GR Supra, the first global model to be developed by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, is a pure-bred sports car, with a front engine/rear-wheel drive configuration, compact, two-seater design and dimensions that achieve the “golden ratio” for optimum handling. The new 2.0-litre engine widens its market appeal and, being lighter and more compact than the 3.0-litre unit, improves the car’s inertia characteristics and chassis balance for even sharper handling.
Production of the new 2.0-litre GR Supra is due to commence shortly, ahead of its global sales launch in March.
New 2.0-litre turbo engine
The new 2.0-litre engine is an in-line, four-cylinder unit fitted with a single twin-scroll turbocharger and coupled to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. It delivers genuine sports car performance and a rewarding experience for the driver: maximum power is 258 DIN hp/190 kW and peak torque output is a muscular 400 Nm, enabling acceleration from standstill to 100 km/h in just 5.2 seconds and a maximum (governed) speed of 250 km/h.
Exhaust CO2 emissions are 135 to 144 g/km (NEDC correlated figures), 156 to 172 g/km (WLTP data).
Dynamic benefits
The smaller size and reduced weight of the new engine bring specific dynamic benefits to the GR Supra. Where the entry-level model is concerned, the car tips the scales 100 kg lighter than its 3.0-litre counterpart. And because the engine is more compact, it is positioned closer to the centre of the vehicle, helping secure an ideal 50:50 front-rear weight balance.
This contributes to the car’s responsiveness, agility and confidence-inspiring handling.
“To achieve agile steering and stable cornering, we worked very hard to reduce the new car’s weight, while aiming for a 50:50 weight balance,” said GR Supra Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada. “This presented us with huge challenges, but we did not want to compromise on our targets.”
Notably, the new 2.0-litre GR Supra achieves the same “golden ratio” for optimum handling performance, a quality defined by the ratio between the car’s wheelbase and track dimensions. For all GR Supra models, this ratio is 1.55, within the ideal range.
Please click here to view the full press release.
SOURCE: Toyota
