Detroit Motor Show 2019 preview: Toyota Supra, Subaru S209, Selby GT500 and more

There are only a few more days to go until the first major motor show of the year, the North American International Auto Show, opens its doors to the public.

The event, known as the Detroit Motor Show in the UK, is favoured by the major US brands for unveiling their new models, but the show has become increasingly popular among international manufacturers.

With the motor show getting under way on Monday, and running until 27 January, here’s what to expect:

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Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

Ford reserves the Shelby name for only its most extreme muscle cars, so don’t expect the new Mustang GT500 to be a slouch.

Auto Express expects the GT500 to produce around 700bhp from a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 engine, making it significantly more powerful than the standard Mustang V8’s output of 444bhp.

A single teaser image posted by the US car giant suggests the car will undergo a design overhaul, too, with a larger front grille and more aggressive styling around the brake cooling ducts.

All will be revealed when the car debuts in Detroit next week.

Lexus RC F Track Edition

The RC F heads into its fifth year on sale in 2019, but Lexus isn’t putting the brakes on its front-engined grand tourer just yet.

Next week, the company will be taking the covers off its new RC F Track Edition, which the Japanese carmaker will be hoping can dethrone the BMW M4 CS at the top of the fast coupe market.

Lexus has released only a shadowy teaser image of the car so far and hasn’t announced any performance details yet. CNet, though, claims that the company is tipping the car to be the “fastest, most powerful” Lexus ever built.

Lexus LC Convertible

The Toyota-backed company’s most recent grand tourer, the luxurious LC 500, is also debuting a new model in Detroit.

Previewed online in the run-up to the show, the LC Convertible concept is a drop-top version of the coupe that launched early last year.

Autocar says it expects the car to come with the same 3.5-litre V6 hybrid and 5.0-litre V8 engines as the current model, and retain the four-seat layout.

Subaru S209

Subaru is finally launching one of its most hardcore models outside Japan for the first time.

Based on the company’s most recent WRX sports saloon, the S209 is a track-focused machine fettled by the Japanese carmaker’s performance arm STI.

Limited to just 450 examples, the S209 is expected to boast a power upgrade over the standard car’s 296bhp output, as well as a host of carbon winglets scattered across the body, says US-based motoring site Motor1.

Unfortunately, though, the S209 will only be available in the US and Japan, and won’t be making its way to the UK.

Toyota Supra

Arguably the biggest announcement that will come out of the Detroit Motor Show will be the unveiling of the new Toyota Supra.

Fans of the sports car had been hoping the production model would make its first appearance during 2018 after Toyota took the wraps off its Supra-based GR Racing Concept at the Geneva Motor Show last March.

But the wait is almost over, as Toyota confirmed on Thursday that the Supra’s grand unveiling will take place on 14 January at 2.40pm UK time.

Fans will already have a good idea of what to expect from Toyota during next week’s reveal. Along with a series of leaked images, hinting at the car’s design, it was confirmed in 2017 that the Supra would use the same production platform as the latest BMW Z4. Therefore, it is expected to adopt the German car’s 3.0-litre straight-six turbo engine, says Autocar.