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In 2001, Vin Diesel changed the world with seven words.
I owe you a ten-second car.
It wasn't born all that special,
but it became a movie star.
It was the car that you could customize
to the molecules and turn into a f*king missile.
And ever since it put Dom Toretto to shame in the first Fast and Furious, it’s
helped to define car culture the world over.
Here’s everything you need to know to get Up to Speed on the Toyota Supra.
Before it was anything, it was a pony car. In 1964, Ford came out with the Mustang
and launched the pony car craze: stylish, mid-priced sedans with big engines.
After a while, Toyota wanted in.
I’m ready to go in coach, just give me a chance!
And they rolled out their rear-wheel drive Celica in 1970.
The car went through a few variations over the years, and in 1978, the Celica line produced
the…
Celica Double X.
Or Dos Equis in Spanish!
I don’t always engineer high-performance sedans, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis!
Toyota’s North American division didn’t like the name so they renamed it the
Celica Supra instead.
The Supra was a more powerful version of the base car; in fact, it’s hood had to be made longer.
But why?
Because Toyota took the legendary engine from their famous 2000GT sports car from the ‘60s,
called the M-engine, and gave it two extra cylinders just for the Supra.
Now, Toyota always stands for reliability and dependability, just like me.
But unlike me it doesn’t stand for fun and excitement.
So who do you think helped them engineer this new machine?
I...I...I...I don’t know.
Lotus.
A British carmaker.
In the 1970s.
And you know when you put the words ‘British’ and ‘1970s’ in the same sentence, you
always get ‘quality,’ right?
Uh, I don’t think so.
So Toyota Supras got to be more awesome, and Lotus Excels got less faulty parts.
But, they still broke down.
I mean they’re Lotuses, nobody can fix a Lotus.
Between Toyota’s engineering prowess, Lotus’ high-speed expertise, and a new six-cylinder engine,
the end result was a car that was… meh.
Not amazing, not terrible, but you know, gold star for effort.
In 1981, the original A40 Celica Supra was updated into a new model, the A50.
For whatever reason, nobody liked the term “A50” in the US, so American journalists
just started calling em MkII’s.
Cause America, we do what we want.
America! F*ck ya!
Toyota never used this terminology, yet the style caught on, and now most people around
the world refer to a Supra by its Mark.
Oh, hi Mark!
Otherwise, the A50-I-mean-the-Mk II just kind of went along.
And just like the first car, it was… meh.
Then in 1986, it was at last time for the Supra to break free!
As they updated the model again, Toyota split the Celica and the Supra into different lines.
This was the A70, or as everybody else called it, the Mk III.
It featured a souped-up version of thae M-engine: but you couldn’t really tell because it
gained a lot of weight. 500 pounds.
Fat guy in a little coat.
So, with the extra weight, the Mk III at the beginning really wasn’t that much better
than the Mk II.
meh
In 1987, for my second birthday, somebody at Toyota slapped a turbocharger on the engine,
creating the 7M-GTE: a legend the very last, and very best, of a remarkable engine line
dating back to the ‘60s.
An Inline-6 producing 230 hp, the 7M turbo was so good that somebody else at Toyota decided
to rebrand the car as a new variant, the Supra Turbo.
And this was the moment that the Supra began living up to its name.
The Supra Turbo’s integrated rear spoiler made it look like something out of Star Wars,
and its speed made it look like something out of Star Wars.
Suddenly, the Supra was a car that you wanted.
And then in 1992, the Mk III evolved into its final form.
A brand-new performance Inline-6 for sports cars: the 1JZ.
It blasted past the old engine and created the fastest and best version of this era of Supra.
A tuned-up version of this was called the Twin Turbo R, and with its release, the Supra
was no longer just... alright.
It was… alright, alright, alright!
This was it, the peak, the pinnacle of what Toyota could do.
It couldn’t get any better than this, could it?
Oh, you betcha.
Ya.
Enter: the A80, better known as the Mk IV.
First released in 1993, the new Supra ditched the boxy look of the 1970s and went for a
sleek, sexy blend of aerodynamics and awesome.
It looks like Joe Camel had a baby with a PENIS!
It was even more powerful than the old car.
And Toyota body-shamed it into losing some weight.
For a total loss of over 200 pounds.
Lighter and more powerful, the already pretty great Supra was now F*CKING AWESOME!
And so, it was official: the Mk IV Supra was the slowest car in the world.
That doesn’t make any goddamn sense.
According to Car and Driver Magazine, the Supra had the most powerful brakes and best
stopping distance of any production car between 1997 and 2004.
That’s seven f*cking years.
And something else happened in that time… oh ya!
The 2JZ!
Ever heard of it?
It’s like one of the best engines ever.
The 2JZ is a more powerful version of the 1JZ, and it was indestructible.
That meant that any mechanic who knew what he was doing could swap out a few parts, crank
up the boost it wasn’t long before people started talking crazy numbers, like 800 hp.
Just for reference, Ayrton Senna’s Formula One car that year made 710 horsepower.
Out of all engines ever made, few were easier to modify and tune than the 2JZ.
With the incredible engine, better turbos, Toyota’s first six-speed gearbox,
It went like hell, turned on a dime, rode pretty comfortably, had four seats, looked good.
And those awesome brakes that I mentioned before.
Oh! And it was reliable!
Because, Toyota.
The latest Supra was well and truly, the greatest.
it could give the Porsches and Aston Martins of its day a run for their money,
for half the cost!
Did I mention 2JZ?
Are you guys even f*cking listening to me?
It got so famous, that it became a movie star.
Literally.
Alongside supporting cast Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, it got the lead role in the original
Fast and the Furious.
More than any other single factor, the Supra’s starring role turned an entire generation
onto the Japanese sports car scene and car culture in general.
I mean, without this car, I wouldn’t have a job.
Thanks for proving my dad wrong, Supra!
The Mk IV Supra was a legend, an icon, just like me.
Even the Supra, as spectacular as it was, couldn’t convince people to fork over their money.
Toyota pulled the Supra off the floor in America in 1998, and ceased sales around the world in 2002.
The Supra was just too good for this world.
Goodbye my love!
But over the years, a chosen few have kept the dream alive.
Tuners continue to find, mod, and sell Supras, which have quietly turned the twenty-year-old
car into one of the most in-demand vehicles on the second hand market.
A mint condition Mk IV can sell for six figures today, even though it only would have cost
around $40,000 back when it was new.
So if you have an old one lying around, you could be rich and not even know it.
But why would you sell it?
It’s not like they’re making anymore.
Or are they?
It’s the worst-kept secret in the industry right now is that Toyota and BMW have formed
an alliance, to build a new sports car platform that they can both use.
Toyota, rumor has it, wants a Supra.
Some say it could even be a performance hybrid, like a miniature version of the a 918.
If so, then the Supra will once again be breaking barriers, bringing hypercar performance ideas
to the masses.
It’s a miracle!
A miracle!
Whatever Toyota does or doesn’t do next, the Supra of old stands tall as one of the
all-time greats of the industry--a mid-range Toyota that was available for the mass market,
based off an old sedan, with an engine that was too heavy?
It’s one of the best f*cking cars ever made.
That’s everything you need to know to get up to speed on the Toyota Supra.
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What cars do you want to see us cover next?
What did I miss in this video?
What is your favorite mk4 Supra ever?
Mine is probably the Veilside kitted one.
Do I look sweaty?