Toyota Supra is red-hot performer
The new Toyota Supra, the first in 18 years, is wonderfully menacing-looking and has a 4.3-second 0-100kph time.
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Toyota Supra |
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Rating |
★★★★★ |
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Price |
€81,850 |
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Engine |
BMW-sourced turbocharged straight six |
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The Spec |
Very well appointed for a sports coupe |
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Verdict |
Beauty and b |
How it came about merits recounting a memorably amusing tale. Back then, Toyota Ireland used Slattery PR to handle its local public relations and the head man was a Lahinch native, Padraig 'Sam' Slattery.
I got a call from 'Sam', about a month before the Mondello gig, saying he had to organise a launch of the new Supra and asking if I could think of anything different he might be able to do to maximise the column-inch tally such a venture might normally achieve. I said I'd think about it and get back.
I called him a few days later to see if he had found a solution.
"No," was the curt response.
"OK," I said. "You know Eddie Irvine, the guy racing for Jordan in F1 for the last two years?"
The answer was an affirmative, but along the lines of: "So what?"
"Well, Eddie drove a lot of things on his way to F1 and actually spent a lot of time in Japan and made many contacts with Toyota, to the point that he has driven their Le Mans entry for the last three years, finishing second this year."
"What? You mean he raced for Toyota? At Le Mans?"
"Yes, indeed. They should have actually won the race and were leading with 90 minutes to go, but got stymied by a gearbox issue and finished second in the end. Given the connections, he might be the man to launch the Supra for you and generate a bit of newspaper and media interest."
"Have you got his number?" was the swift response.
Little over a month later, Irvine was smoking a 321bhp Mk 4 Supra around the Co Kildare track, largely sideways, trying to frighten the crap out of the assembled hacks. He was having a ball and entirely unconcerned that the amount of rubber he was burning was causing panic in nearby Clane, Prosperous, and Sallins.
Back then and long before he made many millions at Ferrari and nearly won a world championship, Irvine was keen on an earner and this launch suited him just fine — having the craic and keeping the sponsors and the hacks happy.
When I told him he owed me a few quid for getting him the gig, he laughed and impolitely suggested I send an invoice. I got a signed photo instead.
In any event, that was a cracking car, the Mk IV Supra, and 'minters' are much in demand among classic-car aficionados across Europe and the US.
It might not be a Ferrari, but, to those in the know, that Supra was among the best production sports cars the Japanese have built.
The thing is, though, we've been waiting a while for the successor to that car. The Mk 4 remained in production until 2002, so it's been 18 years; a long 18 years. The wait has been worthwhile, however, because the new one is here.
But, hang on a second, the new one is a Supra — all menacing curves, aggressive lines, and nailed-on badness — but, in truth, it's, er, a BMW. Well, sort of, anyway.
Basically, because they don’t really make such things anymore, Toyota sought BMW's help with getting an engine and gearbox. Presto: A turbocharged straight six and an eight-speed auto.
Then, the Japanese thought, 'We don't really have a platform for this.' Shazam: BMW Cluster Architecture (CLAR). And then the Toyota people realised: 'Hell, we don't have anywhere to build it.' Poof: The BMW line at the Magna Steyr plant in Austria.
The truth is somewhere in there, but the fact of the matter is that the Supra and the new BMW Z4 share a lot of stuff — except the Toyota is a coupe and the BMW is a convertible. In fairness to Toyota, it says that once the components had been chosen, the two companies went and did their own thing.
The two cars where thus styled in different studios and there was no overlap in the development. Engineers from either side were not allowed access to what the opposition was doing. There was no cross-pollination with regard to suspensions or electronics. And the result — from Toyota's point of view, anyway — is entirely satisfactory.
A cursory look at the Supra invokes an immediate 'wow' response. It is a two-seater, which is a digression from the 2+2 Supras of old, but it is a visual treat, from the deep and aerodynamically profiled front air dam, to the aping of an F1 front end, to the fancy light clusters, the wider, performance tyres, and the bubble roof. It also has a very aggressive, 'fat lip' rear spoiler and the rear diffuser with its twin exhausts and centrally-mounted reversing light.
This Supra is mean-looking and although some of the venting is faux, the appearance is one of controlled venom and belligerence. It's wonderful.
The tester was not a regular Supra, but a GR Supra A90, which means it is one of only 90 examples built as a launch edition. It is mechanically the same as all the rest, but it enjoys a red-and-black leather interior and — most important — a stunning, matt Storm Grey overcoat and matt black, forged alloys.
And if this is an engaging car to look at, then to drive it is entirely engrossing. It bristles with technology, what with an active diff. and adaptive dampers — not to mention all the different driving settings, which can be mixed and matched to each driver's satisfaction.
To the initiated, the 335bhp might not seem like excessive punch, but the power-to-weight ratio is heavily skewed, meaning that the Supra packs a punch that even heavyweight drivers will appreciate. The 4.3-second 0-100kph time and the limited top speed of 250kph confirm the fact.
Those fat Michelins provide an abundance of grip in the circumstances, although it is relatively easy to invoke lift-off oversteer, or even punch-in-the-face oversteer, with judicious throttle applications.
In 'normal' driving mode, the ride is more like that of a GT than a honed sports car, but press the big red 'Sport' button and it becomes a beast of a different colour altogether.
If you're angling to get your licence revoked, then the Supra will undoubtedly oblige if the long arm of the law can catch you, but if you're a careful and under-the-radar person, then this will provide the sort of driving enjoyment all too many motor companies seem to forget was once an important part of their brief.
This is a car that, when parked in your drive, will set your heart fluttering, and when you get it out on the open road, it will thrill you in ways you might have either forgotten or never have experienced before.
It rewards being driven just for the damn sake of it. And, remember, the way the industry is going, we might not see the likes of this ever again.
Which reminds me — I must send that invoice to Eddie Irvine.
