[ARTICLE] The Toyota Supra is a Legend Now, But Began as a Glorified Celica

The Toyota Supra has been through a few model designs over the decades, 
some better looking than others ... with the current BMW-version easily 
being the ugliest.


    The Toyota Supra is a Legend Now, But Began as a Glorified Celica
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    Over the years, the Toyota Supra went from a $10,000 commuter with
    luxury intentions to a JDM legend. It may have started life as a
    slightly longer Celica and carried the Celica prefix until its
    third generation, but Toyota eventually gave the Supra the place
    and performance it deserved. While the fourth generation is widely
    considered peak Supra, the fifth-generation - calling 2026 its
    final model year - brought along sophistication and upped the
    sports car performance quotient. Rumors of a ground-up
    sixth-generation are already making rounds on the internet, so the
    Supra nameplate is probably not getting shelved anytime soon.

    Debuting in 1979, the A40-generation Supra was basically a
    six-cylinder Celica, with Toyota stretching the hatchback an
    additional 8.1 inches to accommodate the bigger engine. The
    first-generation Celica Supra's 110-horsepower 2.6-liter
    straight-six provided the car with modest performance, and things 
    weren't much different when the A50 came along in 1981 with an
    upsized 2.8-liter engine putting out 116 horsepower and
    145 pound-feet of torque.

    That, however, changed when the second-generation A60 debuted in
    1982, with Yamaha stepping in for engine development and Lotus
    taking care of the chassis. Lo and behold, the Supra matured, with
    superior driving dynamics and a potent 145-horsepower DOHC 2.8-liter
    straight-six, which made close to 161 hp toward the end of the A60's
    life. The third-generation A70 Supra was introduced as a 1986.5
    model and got a 200-horsepower 3.0-liter straight-six. But more
    importantly, it finally ditched its Celica nameplate and became its
    own standalone model. 

    A turbocharged version came along soon after, bumping the power and
    torque figures to 230 hp and 246 lb-ft, respectively. According to
    Car and Driver's testing, this turbocharged A70 Supra was
    1.6 seconds quicker to 60 mph than the standard model, which took
    8.0 seconds to hit the mark.


    The Turbocharged Supra era
    By 1993, the Supra entered its fourth generation with the
    introduction of the venerable 2JZ inline-six. The twin-turbo "GTE"
    version - often considered a marvel for its time - was rated at
    320 hp, but its tunability made it special, and the Fast and Furious
    franchise later pushed it into stardom. An understressed engine with
    a robust cast-iron block and forged crank capable of handling
    1,000-plus horsepower mated to a brilliant chassis with a level of
    sophistication that not even a BMW E36 M3 could match at the time -
    that was the Mk4 Supra. Also adding to its legendary status is its
    rarity. Sales of the Mk4 were depressingly low versus its
    predecessors, with Toyota managing to shift just over 11,000 examples
    during its 5-year run in the U.S.

    The nameplate took a multi-decade-long hiatus before finally
    returning in 2019 as a 2020 model. However, a lot of the engineering
    and development was handled by BMW. Although the Mk5 Supra debuted
    with a 335-horsepower straight-six and an eight-speed ZF automatic
    transmission, 2021 and newer models got a spicier 382-hp engine with
    the option of a 6-speed manual. 

    To make the car more accessible, Toyota offered the Mk5 Supra with a
    255-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. While the Mk5 Supra
    was highly criticized for relying on a BMW Z4 base, it stands on its
    own as a capable sports car. And if you're in the market for a used
    fifth-generation Supra, you might be interested in knowing how much
    it has depreciated in the last 5 years.
    
<https://www.jalopnik.com/2110548/2021-toyota-supra-gr-5-year-depreciation/> 



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