Motorsports

Published on March 28th, 2020 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez

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Toyota GR SUPRA GT4 Granted SRO GT4 Homologation

FIRST CUSTOMERS CONFIRMED

The all new Toyota Supra 3.0L continues to be a much admired sports car in Malaysia but its selling price is deterring high sales as Malaysians are not used to paying a high price for Japanese sports cars. The RM568,000 asking price is too close to the asking price of a Porsche Cayman and BMW Z4 and Malaysians will pay for the European sports car but not the Japanese sports car even though it may driver better, corner faster and brake better.

The Supra name plate is still much admired by Malaysians and when we test drove the car over a weekend, the attention we got was more than any European sports car…..even the cars costing almost double.

Still, 12 happy Malaysians have already taken delivery of their brand new Supra and we are sure there will be 12 or more Malaysians in the coming year buying this new Supra. Meanwhile, the race ready Supra has just gotten its homologation approval in France.

PRESS RELEASE: The Toyota GR Supra GT4 race car has successfully achieved homologation in the GT4 category following technical examinations and track tests by the governing Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO).

SRO officials scrutinised the GR Supra GT4 in detail prior to testing its performance on track at Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France last week, in order to determine the appropriate Balance of Performance, which is applied to all GT4 cars in order to ensure equal competition.

Development of the GR Supra GT4 at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) began in early 2019 and included an exhaustive test programme, covering more than 10,000km at circuits around Europe. With lead test driver Stéphane Ortelli contributing his experience, as well as drivers from a range of backgrounds, GR Supra GT4 cars were optimised in a variety of conditions.

Designed to appeal to drivers of all levels, the GR Supra GT4 benefits from its unique Intelligent GT4 Racing System which, through user-friendly electronics and automatic functionality, minimises distractions to allow the driver to focus fully on racing the car.

Performance comes via a three-litre in-line six-cylinder engine with single twin-scroll turbo charger which has been tuned to 430hp, combined with a 7-speed sports automatic transmission driving the rear wheels. Ravenol provides lubricant technology to ensure reliability and high performance.

With GT4 homologation secured, the first GR Supra GT4 race cars will be delivered to customers immediately, ready to participate in a range of different series around Europe.

Ring Racing, located near the Nürburgring, has purchased two cars and will enter one car in the ADAC GT4 Germany championship, which features six events this year, and another car at the nine-round Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie, formerly known as VLN. Ring Racing will additionally operate one of their cars in the Nürburgring 24 Hours on behalf of Novel Racing.

France-based CMR will also compete with two GR Supra GT4 cars this year, with one car taking on the challenge of the European GT4 Series in the hands of Antoine Potty, Timothée Buret, Fabien Michal and Gaël Castelli. The second CMR car participates in the six-round French GT4 Series with Aurélien Panis, Julien Piguet, César Gazeau and Stéphane Lémeret driving.

In the United Kingdom, Speedworks Motorsport, already participating in the British Touring Car Championship with a Toyota Corolla, under the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters banner, will enter one GR Supra GT4 for Sam Smelt and James Kell in the seven-round British GT series where GT3 and GT4 cars compete in the same races.

High customer demand for the GR Supra GT4 meant the first units were sold out quickly, and orders have already been taken for the next batch of cars to be produced, with deliveries planned for early summer.

GR Supra GT4 Technical Specifications

ENDS

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