Toyota’s V8 Supercars engine: Inside the 5.2-litre with Lexus roots

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The engine from the Lexus LC500 luxury coupe will this year take on Chevrolet and Ford at Bathurst.


Matt Adams
 Inside the 5.2-litre with Lexus roots

The engine set to power Toyota's first Supercars Championship entry in 2026 will share more DNA than you might expect with Lexus's fan favourite sports car.

The GR Supra racecar will use the '2UR-GSE' V8 found in models such as the current Lexus LC500, and discontinued IS F, RC F, GS F, and IS500 performance cars, as well as Toyota HiLux Dakar rally utes.

Originally a 5.0-litre capacity, the engine has been increased to 5.2 litres to achieve performance parity with larger rivals, within regulations that allow displacements between 5.0 litres and 5.7 litres.

It will compete against the General Motors engine, sized at 5.7 litres for the Camaro, and the Ford 5.4-litre V8 in the Mustang, which are both based on the engines that power each car's road variant.

Walkinshaw TWG Racing Toyota GR Supra Supercar

The Supercars-spec engine destined for the Toyotas was developed in partnership between Victoria-based Supercars team Walkinshaw TWG Racing and UK-based Swindon Powertrain.

With a long history in racing, Swindon Powertrain serviced and rebuilt F1 engines in the 1970s and 1980s, with some of its current engines winning multiple titles in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).

The race version of the Toyota V8 retains a number of the road engine's internal parts, such as the block, cylinder heads, main caps, and timing chains and guides.

 Inside the 5.2-litre with Lexus roots
Brad Jones Racing Toyota GR Supra Supercar

It has received a new inlet manifold, upgraded internals, and further tuning to reach the category-required power number of 600 horsepower (447kW).

Despite their differing displacement and designs, all three Supercars' engines are required to match one another to produce the same power and torque figures throughout the rev range and are limited to 7500rpm.

Fans will see five Supras, two from Walkinshaw TWG Racing, driven by Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood, with three fielded by Brad Jones Racing, contested by Andre Heimgartner, Cam Hill, and Macauley Jones, when the 2026 Supercars season starts in Sydney on 20 February.

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