#Toyota Supra Looks Great, But Some Only See A BMW [Auto Styling News]

Sports car enthusiasts have been waiting more than 20 years for the return of Supra and will soon be able to purchase the 2020 Toyota GR Supra for about $50,000.

For those fans and collectors anxious to be among the first owners of this iconic sports car, the initial 1,500 production Supras for the U.S. will be Launch Edition models starting at $55,250. Each will be uniquely numbered and have distinctive features signifying the exclusivity and excitement of Supra’s return. Toyota dealers will be handling all orders and the Launch Edition models go on sale in Summer 2019 starting at $55,250.

The Supra Launch Edition will be available in exterior colors of Absolute Zero White, Nocturnal Black or Renaissance Red 2.0, each featuring high-contrast red mirror caps and 19-inch forged matte black alloy wheels.

The Absolute Zero White and Nocturnal Black Supra Launch Editions will have a red interior. Each of the racing-inspired seats will be wrapped in red leather, with red leather steering wheel grips, and a red center console with carbon-fiber accents.

The Renaissance Red 2.0 Supra Launch Edition will feature a black leather-trimmed interior, with black seats, a black steering wheel, and black center console. The black interior will also feature carbon-fiber accents.

The first 1,500 Supras will feature an individually numbered carbon-fiber badge on the passenger-side dashboard complete with a graphic of Toyota Motor Corporation President and Master Driver Akio Toyoda’s signature.

CONTROVERSIAL DESIGN
The design bears a great resemblance to the most recent iteration of the car, the A80, which was produced from 1993 to 2002. The final design bore some resemblance to the 2014 FT-1 concept car, though with much toned down features.

The Supra is powered by two BMW-sourced engine options, and some critics say the interior is ripped from a BMW Z4. The exterior, too, has been accused of having a rather Teutonic/German style, and in a way, that's not an entirely bad comparison. (Though BMW is openly saying that the Z4 has a more powerful engine!)

The Pontiac-like nose juts outward, dangling between the two, large headlamps, which look like panthers about to pounce. They are placed on a bulging, Z4-like hood, that begs the question, "What's under that thing?" before one even asks the question. The side windows are small, and are finished off with a Hofmeister-kink style rear window. In front of both wheels are large, Lexus-like vents (likely not operational or useful.)

Another cut exists on the hood parallel with the windscreen that makes one wonder if the car has been in a knife fight. There's little question, however, whether it WON that fight. This small car screams masculinity in a way a Miata never could.

The rear of the Supra really shows the amazing curves on this thing. While rear visibility seems severely compromised by the large rear spoiler, the heart-shaped curvature of the rear window, indented rooftop and C-pillars - which curve inward at a sharp angle - are a sight to see, and the tail lights sit atop two large cuts that swoop downward, forming dramatic frames to the dual exhaust ports.

In short, this BMW-like Toyota is a quite ballsy sports car, and whether Toyota purists will enjoy the few Lexus-like hat-tips in the design or whether they'll shun it like they would a 3-series sedan remains to be seen.

#Audi Shocks With Gorgeous 2018 Q8 Concept [Auto Styling News]

Audi has revealed the near-production model of the 2018 Audi Q8 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. And it's a beast.

Elegant, angular, and large,  the Q8 concept has emotional and handsome sight lines that make it a bit of a break from Audi's "upside down bathtub" designs of the past. This new corporate look is angular and fierce.

Audi crows, legitimately, that this is a shrewd combination of a spacious SUV with the emotional lines of a coupe. It will come with a powerful, yet highly efficient plug-in hybrid with 330 kW of system output and 516.3 lb-ft of torque. The concept car is the basis for a production model that Audi will launch on the market in 2018, Audi assures. If so, Audi is in for a bit of a renaissance.

Despite the sloping, coupe-like roof line, even the rear-seat passengers enjoy ample head and shoulder room. The front view of the 6.7 ft wide Q8 concept is already impressive, on first glance. The massive and impressive octagonal grill has a honeycomb insert that's significantly wider than in today's Audi production models.

The flat, wedge-shaped headlights of the Audi Q8 concept are integrated progressively into the exterior and connected from a design perspective to the surrounding air inlets. The individual lighting units have glass covers, but the headlights as a whole are open. The lights are a very welcome change from previous models, which gave Audis a rounded and bulbous appearance.

The side view is equally dynamic. The doors here have window frames, thus contributing to the flat roofline. The Audi Q8 concept is 5.6 ft. tall. All lines on the body climb upward dynamically toward the rear – the bottom edge of the side window, the shoulders, the dynamic line and the sill lines.

The surfaces of the fenders, doors and side panels are athletically curved. The lower section of the doors form a deep fillet. Other design features are the Quattro logo milled below the rear doors and also the exterior mirrors with their multifaceted edges. The doors are opened via touch sensors. As soon as the door detects hand contact, it opens easily and swings to a defined opening angle.

The extremely flat and very wide C-pillar is reminiscent of the Audi Quattros of the 1980s, as are the strongly flared shoulders over the wheels. This places the concept car in a logical line with the show cars of the Audi Prologue series.

A long roof edge spoiler shades the extremely flat rear window of the Audi concept. A double spoiler lip below the window forms a distinctive contour on the power luggage compartment hatch.

The strip of lights extends over the entire width of the rear end. And if there's a quibble with the design, it's that this thin rear light structure *may* too closely resemble that of a modern Lincoln. If you love Lincolns, that's great. If you view Lincolns as tarted-up Fords, it's not.

The license plate of the Audi Q8 concept is located on a black trim strip between the lights – a historic feature of the Audi Quattro. Clearly, they're hearkening back to their heritage here, and if they keep this design in relatively the same format to the production model, they will revive the brand and boost sales to the stratosphere in the US and Europe.

Photos: Audi Media Center