Honda NSX, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Toyota Supra – the holy trinity of ’90s Japanese performance automobile royalty. But who’s king? That’s a troublesome one…
Many would argue the NSX, with its aluminium semi-monocoque construction and Ayrton Senna-tuned handling, is heir to the throne. Others might insist the GT-R deserves to be crowned king for its domination on the race track and grip like a gorilla on a zipper line. Then there’s the A80 Supra, which celebrated its thirtieth birthday this 12 months. Surely it will be king for its mythical tuner kudos and supreme street cool?
I recently met with a bunch of A80 owners to see what the fuss is de facto all about. The rendezvouses point? Daikoku PA, naturally. Being evening time, the famous parking area was filled with cars of all makes and models and plenty of people having fun with the vibe.
At the highest end of the PA I discovered the Supras, grouped together, lurking within the shadows. It either looks like they don’t play well with others or they don’t want their doors scratched. Or they feel a bit superior to all of the abnormal cars. In any case, the costs A80s command lately dwarf those of Lancer Evos, AE86s, and in some cases even the mighty GT-R.
Even booking a bunch shoot for this A80 Supra thirtieth anniversary story of sorts proved difficult for me. Unlike owners of other cars, the MkIV Supra owners I contacted were elusive, dismissive and seemed hesitant to fulfill. The fellows on this shoot were difficult to book too, and weren’t too keen on driving around town for photos. Perhaps they try to maintain the magical mystery that seems to shroud the Supra? Somewhat mystery actually helps to maintain the values up.
The A80 went on sale in 1993, its running gear largely based on the Soarer Z30. During its development, Toyota used the A70 chassis with hand-built A80 bodies as test mules.
So why is the MkIV Supra held in such high regard? Well, for starters, it was certainly one of the original hero cars within the Fast and Furious franchise. Prefer it or not, Hollywood is pretty good at making stars, each physical and mechanical. When Paul Walker took on Vin Diesel in that famous ’10-second’ quarter mile race, the Supra became an icon for tens of millions across the globe. And when Walker sadly passed away, well, just take a take a look at the costs of a few of the jewellery Princess Diana wore.
Then in fact there are all the explanations which exist in the actual world. The Supra’s bulletproof 2JZ-GTE engine has made it one of the tuneable cars to ever come out of Japan. Toyota’s iconic twin-turbo 3.0L inline-six is thought to support four-figure horsepower with ease, and I plan to take a closer take a look at the black automobile featured here because it’s generating a cool 1,200hp.
Then there’s the success that the chassis and aerodynamics had in various circuit-based racing series, not to say drift and drag racing.
On the quarter mile, with its excellent drag coefficient of 0.33 – sitting between a Honda Insight with 0.25 and a 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulia with 0.34 – it has seen loads of quarter mile success. Cars just like the HKS Drag Supra, Titan Motorsports Supra, and Vinny Ten Racing Supra have all run sub-7-second quarter miles. Which is relatively fast.
It’s an icon, of course. Those headlights, the tail lights, the wraparound cockpit style interior are all unmistakably ‘Supra’.
Unfortunately, by the late-Nineteen Nineties high performance sports cars simply weren’t selling as they used to, and when 1996 rolled around overseas sales of the Supra had ceased. The previous few A80 Supras rolled off the factory floor in 2002.
The A80 will certainly go down in history as equal parts peak ICE performance automobile and mythical Japanese hero. Blissful thirtieth anniversary to the MkIV Supra.
Toby Thyer
Instagram _tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk
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This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
