2019 Toyota A90 Supra engine uncovered

These are pictures Toyota doesn’t want you to see. At least not yet.

The eagerly anticipated new Supra has been the subject of the world’s longest information drip-feed, which will culminate in the reveal of the final production car at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show in January.

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Prototype first drives have taken place with promising results, but Toyota was careful to keep some secrets to itself, covering the vast majority of the interior, disguising the exterior in camouflage and keeping the bonnet firmly shut.

Thankfully, a MOTOR source is here to help, providing images of the Supra with the bonnet up from a test session at the Nürburgring. A handful of images of the new A90’s engine exist online, but all have the giant plastic engine cover in place, whereas the shots you see here are the engine in its naked glory.

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The engine itself is no secret, the B58 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six found in all manner of BMW products including the Supra’s droptop Bavarian sibling, the new Z4 M40i. In that application the B58 produces 250kW from 5000-6500rpm and 500Nm from 1600-4500rpm, though the US-spec Z4 M40i swells power to 285kW.

Toyota is expected to keep the outputs similar to that of the international Z4, attached to an eight-speed ZF automatic, the only gearbox to be initially offered. A 0-100km/h claim of around 4.5sec is expected. A six-speed manual is theoretically possible, but not currently a priority.

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While the A90 is unlikely to sound as spine-tingling as its 2JZ-equipped A80 predecessor, Aussie Supras will use a louder exhaust than their European counterparts to deliver a soundtrack to match its 86-on-steroids performance and dynamics.

Now all that’s left is to see the finished product in Detroit on January 14.