New Toyota Supra leads Touring Car Masters build surge

Fresh metal for the TCM grid

Touring Car Masters is experiencing a construction boom, with several new cars being built for the popular retro racing category. Leading the charge is an all-new Toyota Supra, currently taking shape at the Bendigo Retro Centre in Victoria.

According to Auto Action, the Supra is one of multiple projects underway, including several Ford Falcons and a Volvo 240 GT — clear signs that the category continues to attract serious interest as it heads towards the 2027 season.

Solid foundations

Long-time TCM competitor and car builder Gary O'Brien is spearheading the Supra build. The shell is now mounted on a rotisserie and prepped for the major fabrication work to begin.

"We have been getting on with the TCM Supra programme, the body is on the rotisserie, and we have prepped it to start the major work on the car," O'Brien told the publication. "It's coming along nicely."

O'Brien has been impressed with what he's found so far. "When we stripped the car, I was so impressed with the platform," he said. "It's also a great shape, it should be pretty slippery."

Room to move

With a dummy TCM control engine and Hollinger gearbox already test-fitted, O'Brien reckons the Supra offers more space than the Holden Toranas and Commodores that have long dominated TCM grids.

"I'm pleased with the amount of room that's inside the engine bay," he noted. The extra space should make ongoing maintenance and development work considerably easier once the car hits the track.

The build marks another chapter in TCM's evolution, as the category continues to expand beyond its traditional Aussie muscle car base to embrace a broader range of period touring cars from the 1970s and '80s.

With multiple builds underway across different workshops, the TCM field looks set to grow stronger — and more diverse — in the coming seasons.