Toyota GR’s Supra GT4 EVO is the lovechild of GR passion and Toyota’s ingenuity
Image: Toyota
Image: Toyota
Image: Toyota
Image: Toyota
In a motorsport application, the MK5 Supra has proven to be a versatile workhorse, with the 2020 GT4 series seeing over 50 GR Supra GT4 cars competing worldwide. Those skillful GR customers secured over 100 podium finishes that further stoked Toyota’s desire to improve, which saw the birth of the 2023 GR Supra GT4 EVO.
Image: Toyota
To better understand what needed to change in the 2020 GT4 Supra, GR engineers served as part of many teams’ support crews to get a hands-on look at what customers needed. That experience seems to have been indispensable in the evolution of the 2020 GT4 car. Braking, handling and power were the main points that GR sought to improve on.
Image: Toyota
Efforts to improve braking resulted in the addition of larger brake discs, larger callipers, new ABS settings, cutting-edge kW damper technology, and anti-roll bars. Stopping power is complemented by horsepower, which has been beefed up in the EVO’s B58. More kW being pushed out and a softer torque curve to provide a more linear delivery of up to 660 N.m are the more notable alterations packaged into the GT4 EVO’s powertrain. A heartier power plant paired with upgraded cooling components.
To be capable of retaining its handling, the bulk of the previous GT4 car’s suspension components have been changed. This change rewarded the new car, with the increased capability to tackle corners at higher speeds and an overall improvement in its handling capabilities. Better dampers, large Pirelli tires, multi-spoke 18-inch OZ wheels, a DREXLER Motorpost spec LSD punctuated by an Akrapovic racing exhaust.
Image: Toyota
The success of the GR Supra in national and international GT4 championships has been astonishing. As of August this year, the GR Supra GT4 car has celebrated 50 class wins in a major championship, a number Toyota GR is surely aiming to see with the new GR GT4 EVO. The new GR Supra GT4 EVO orders are being taken and an EVO homologation kit is available to exist GT4 customers. This marks the MK5 Supra’s rawest and most motorsports-inclined iteration yet, which comes with an asking price of roughly R3 376 000.
Image: Toyota
Fret not though as the 2023 manual GR Supra will make its way to Q1 of next year and will not be as pricey at the GR Supra GT4 EVO.