Could the Philippines Get an Entry-Level Toyota GR Supra?

One year after the debut of its flagship GR Supra, Toyota is now expanding its global offering by making available its A90 with a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. This new engine enables the GR Supra to shed around 100 kilograms of weight, while giving it a perfect 50-50 front-to-rear balance.

Fitted with a single twin-scroll turbocharger, the GR Supra 2.0 makes 258 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque. Mated to an 8-speed automatic, it dispatches the century mark in just 5.2 seconds up to a maximum governed speed of 250 km/h.

According to the GR Supra’s Chief Engineer, Tetsuya Tada, the new engine cuts 100 kilograms off the GR Supra’s weight. And because the engine is more compact, it’s positioned closer to the center of the vehicle, helping it secure a 50-50 front-rear weight balance.

Even more interesting is that since the GR Supra 2.0 is positioned as an entry-level model, it’ll be made available in what Toyota calls, the “Live” specification. This strips the sportscar down to the most basic essentials: 18-inch wheels, a 4-speaker system, and seats upholstered in Alcantara. However, for those who want a bit more luxury, it can be speced to match the 3.0-liter version with features such as leather upholstery, power seats, and a 12-speaker JBL sound system all available.

Production for the GR Supra 2.0 starts in March of this year.

According to Toyota, 1,150 examples of the GR Supra have already been sold in 2019 with a great majority of them—95 percent—being the higher-specification model.

Now, the question is: will the Philippines stand to get the entry-level GR Supra? In the past, Toyota Motor Philippines has said that the country will only offer the 335-horsepower 3.0-liter inline-6 version. However, a closer look at the VIN numbers suggest that there’s still remote possibility of seeing the 2.0-liter version here.

For the Asian market, Taiwan and the Philippines both share the same model code: DB41 for the 3.0-liter version. Recently though, Taiwan has also managed to secure the model code DB21, which is the model code for the 2.0-liter version. This means that a specification matching Philippine requirement is available. All it takes is for Toyota Motor Philippines to give the green light, and we could be seeing a second variant in the local GR Supra range.