Shock Toyota announcement! Supra to join 2026 Supercars championship with V8-powered coupe taking the fight to Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro

The Supercars championship will be a three-manufacturer race from 2026, with Toyota making the shock announcement that it will be joining the grid to take on Ford and Chevrolet.

To do it, Toyota will use the series-shared Gen3 chassis, plonking a body on top that is part Supra and part concept car and fitting a Dakar-winning 5.0-litre V8 engine under its bonnet.

Toyota says it's a 25-year dream come to fruition, confirming it was close to joining the series around the year 2000 with the now-axed Avalon.

But the Supra, and more specifically the growth of Toyota's GR (short for Gazoo Racing) brand, has made that dream a reality.

And the brand is aiming big, vowing to win the Bathurst 1000 with a Supra within five years.

Facilitating the entry is Walkinshaw Andretti United, with Walkinshaw formerly running Holden's factory team and currently running two Mustangs in the series.

But from 2026, the group will return to a factory team with Toyota.

So what will be powering the vehicle? Not the engine from the current-gen Supra, but a V8 that's been in everything from the Lexus IS F and LS through to a Dakar Rally-winning V8 GR DKR HiLux.

"The Toyota DNA is clear. The car is instantly recognisable for its iconic Supra shape, and it also takes cues from the original FT1 concept for Supra," says Toyota Australia's VP of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley.

"The Toyota DNA will also be evident in the car's 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine, the 2UR-GSE, which has featured in a range of performance production cars, as well as the Dakar-winning HiLux from 2019."

Mr Hanley makes no mistake about his goal. The program has a minimum five-year outlook, and crossing the finish line first at the Bathurst 1000 is the ultimate target.

"We have to work hard to earn the right to position ourselves on that podium. We have to earn it," Mr Hanley says.

"I promise you this, we don't give up, we don't stop, we keep going, and we will win this race eventually. Make no mistake about it, we will do it."