First-look photos of the incoming Toyota Supra during critical wind tunnel testing in the United States
Supercars’ quest for three-way parity between the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and newcomer Toyota is in full swing with crucial testing in the United States. Exclusive pictures inside.
The new Toyota Supra is set for a different look when it makes its Supercars debut next year as the quest for three-way parity ramps up with the series’ multimillion dollar wind tunnel testing in the United States.
Code Sports has obtained first-look photos of the series newcomer at the Windshear testing facility in Concord, North Carolina, where the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and the Toyota Supra are undergoing critical aerodynamic testing at the “best tool in the world”.
Wind tunnel testing on the three marques began late last week and is set to continue until the weekend as Supercars strives for technical parity ahead of the Supra’s debut in 2026.
A combined cohort of 30 from Supercars’ motorsport department and the three homologation teams, Triple Eight (Ford), Team 18 (Chevrolet) and Toyota (Walkinshaw Andretti United) have made the trip to the US to oversee the testing.
The Camaro, Mustang and Supra have all shared time in the high-tech wind tunnel, which is also used by IndyCar and NASCAR, with the cost for the crucial aero testing believed to be in the range of $2 million.
Supercars has already completed 12 months worth of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) work – the computerised version of wind tunnel testing – on the incoming Supra.
Supercars motorsports boss Tim Edwards said the final race-ready Supra, which has already had on-track demonstrations at Bathurst and Adelaide, would have different “styling cues” to what has already been unveiled.
“As we moved through CFD, Toyota had already committed to certain changes,” Edwards said.
“For example, the front facia will be different to what’s been seen.
“It does have some noticeably different styling cues to it because we needed to change it for the results we saw from the CFD.
“The Toyota will look a bit different to people when they actually see the race-ready version of it.”
The Supra will spend the most time in the wind tunnel to cycle through different aero parts to find the right combinations to match the Mustang and Camaro.
“Obviously, they’ve got the most work to do because they’ve not been here before. It’s all new to them,” Edwards said.
“But they’ve got a huge range of tools to work through. By tools, I mean different aero parts.
“That’s also why we’ve given them the most time in the tunnel because they’ve got the most parts that they need to cycle through until they find the combination that matches the other two cars.”
Edwards said any changes to the cars would be agreed upon by the three homologation teams in the US.
“At the end of the process, we will sit down with the three homologation teams because they’re involved every step of the way,” Edwards said.
“Effectively, all three parties are working together to get the best outcome and seeing the cars signed off there.
“At the end of it, you want to get to a point where you can utter the words, ‘We can agree we have technical parity’ …. it’s in everybody’s interest that we get the right result now.
“Technical parity is the cornerstone of this sport. The racing and results we saw this year are proof it’s vitally important.
“We are at the best facility in the world for aerodynamic testing. In between when we’re running, there’s an IndyCar in the tunnel, or a NASCAR in the tunnel. This is where Hypercars are signed off. This is the best tool in the world, and that’s why everybody uses it.
“We will come out with results that the three homologation teams have signed off on with Supercars and (engineering partner) Dynamique. It gives us the best possible chance of having aerodynamic parity.”
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Originally published as First-look photos of the incoming Toyota Supra during critical wind tunnel testing in the United States
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