Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Toyota Supra



Toyota Supra

The Toyota Supra is one of the greatest cars to ever come out of Japan and is internationally recognized as a sports car icon. Produced from 1979 until 2001 in Japan (only produced until 1998 in North America), each generation has remained a choice platform for tuners around the world. Every generation came with a high horse power inline six engine either naturally aspired, turbocharged or twin turbo charged. The Toyota Supras engines include the 5M-GE, 7M-GE, 7M-GTE, 1JZ-GTE, 2JZ-GE and the notorious 2JZ-GTE. Even today there isn't a more popular generation, sure everyone wants a MK4 Toyota Supra but the MK2 and MK3 Supras have HUGE followings!

MKII Toyota Supra Produced from 1982 until 1986 the second generation Toyota Supra (still known as the Celica Supra) came with a inline six 5M-GE with 175 horsepower. It had a boxy shape, flip up headlights and wide fender flares.

MKIII Toyota Supra The Mark III Supra was introduced in mid 1986. In the first year it was only available with a 200HP 7M-GE engine. In 1987 the Toyota Supra made a Turbocharged model with a 230HP 7M-GTE, the new model came with turbo badges, R-154 transmission, rear spoiler and other accessories. In 1989 the Supra was semi-updated with a new front bumper, 3 piece tail lights, new trim, 3 piece rear spoiler and other minor accessories. In Japan, 1989 was also the year the Twin Turbo R edition was released, it sported a twin turbo high revving 1JZ-GTE power plant with 280HP. The 1JZ was downgraded to 2.5L which didn't give it as much torque to power as the 7M did, but its the "smooth power" what won its owners over. Today, the 1JZ is a common swap for MK2 and MK3 Supras alike and are becoming more and more difficult to find a decent imported 1JZ. The MKIII Supra was made from 1986.5 to 1992.

MKIV Toyota Supra Without a doubt the Mark IV Toyota Supra is one of, if not the car what defines the term "Japanese Sports Car". It has the looks, control and the POWER. In 1993 the latest model Supra was released and has since been the poster car for the higher class import scene. Its been in countless movies, Its won many drag race series, show series, dyno challenges and has stolen the life out of countless muscle car owners on the highway. There is no denying how potent the 2JZ power plant is with its 320HP stock - remember this was in 1993 when most cars came with not even half of that! The twin turbo's are usually the first list on the upgrade list for most tuners, there have been plenty of powerful twin turbo supras out there, but the easiest way to make power on the 2JZ is with a huge single turbocharger. Its a fairly simple task to pull out 700+HP on the 2JZ-GTE and there are quite a few Supras over 1000-1500+HP. The MKIV Supra continues to go up in value and many think its not fair, but simply put, its a SUPERCAR and for 30K+ its a steal. The Supra, sadly saw its last day in North America in 1998.

The Future Toyota Supra Many enthusiasts have been waiting for a MKV Supra to come out for years. How awesome that would be we have to consider the negatives in that.... The MKIV is a true legend, and will be collected forever, and if the MKV did not live up to those standards - especially with the release of the new Nissan GTR the legacy would almost be for nothing. I am all for Toyota to make a new, high powered rear wheel drive sports car, but would it be so bad if it was under the Lexus brand?

About the Author

Thanks for reading my summary of the Toyota Supra. If you are a fan of Japanese Sports Cars, please check out my website at http://www.JDMCars.info

Want to see where the Toyota Supra ranks on the top 10 Japanese Sports Cars list? http://www.squidoo.com/top-10-japanese-sports-cars

Article by: Casey Kluver - JDMCars.info

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