Following the overnight leaked image of the all-new 2020 Toyota Supra, a prototype has been spotted today secretly testing in Australia.
A prototype of Toyota’s Supra sports car is secretly testing in Australia – and it’s been sprung by motoring media attending a Ford launch on the same day in exactly the same Victorian hotel.
Hidden from sight overnight at the RACV Resort in Healesville, the top-secret sports car was wheeled out into public view – covered in camouflage – ahead of its official reveal at the Detroit motor show in January.
These images of a car codenamed A90 show its distinctive camouflage designed to hide the details of the final design; it carries the GR badging – denoting Gazoo Racing – that is expected to be used on a high-performance sub-brand by Toyota. The images also reveal the prototype wearing a local numberplate suggesting it’s here for more than just a publicity stunt.
The Supra was later caught testing on roads throughout the Yarra Valley, where engineers were understood to be validating suspension and other parameters.
Toyota Australia also secretly flew out the Supra’s chief engineer, Tetsuya Tada, to brief a small media contingent and explain why the car was undergoing testing in Australia – well beyond the usual far flung test ground haunts used by car makers.
A Toyota spokesman was tight-lipped when contacted for comment, pointing to an embargo placed on the small group of media attending the testing event.
He released a statement that said: “Toyota Australia can confirm an A90 Toyota Supra prototype was in Australia this week.”
To be powered by a BMW 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine (the Supra was developed in conjunction with BMW) the two-door sports car is a crucial image vehicle for Toyota in its quest to make the brand more exciting. It drives the rear wheels and shares a common architecture with the upcoming new BMW Z4.
