Page 181 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

Introduced in 1993, the Supra Turbo boasted 320 horsepower from its twin-turbo engine and could be ordered with a Getrag six-speed gearbox.
There are many remarkable things to note about the A80 platform, which was good enough to be shared with the Lexus SC line. First, the hood, Sport Roof panel, and several underbody components were made from aluminum to reduce weight. A host of other weight-reducing components tell the story of Toyota’s weight- reduction program, such that the A80 weighed in at about 200 pounds less than the A70. Even the optional wing on the rear was functional, delivering substantial downforce at highway speeds and above.
For the first three years of production, the A80 Supra received only minor changes. 1996 was an odd year because of the advent of mandatory OBD-II engine monitoring. Toyota had not yet married the OBD-II system to the manual transmission, so the Supra Turbo was available only with the automatic transmission in that year. Things got back to normal for 1997, though, and carried the Supra through the end of US sales at the end of 1998. For the final year of production, increased compression and variable valve timing gave the naturally aspirated Supra a small power boost.
The Supra Legacy
While it never achieved the all-time-record sales success of the Corolla or other popular bread-and-butter Toyotas, the Supra served its function as a halo model before Toyota invented the Lexus brand to serve the same purpose. The Supra in its time was among the top performance cars by any automaker, variously besting the Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche and other premium brands. In this era the Japanese produced some of the best performance cars of all time, such as the Acura NSX, third generation Mazda RX-7, and Mitsubishi 3000GT. That the normally staid Toyota had a product that was the equal of those collectible mainstays is historically significant.
THE DRIVE
Regardless of the generation of Supra you choose, this car is among the best of its era. Even when the 1982 Supra debuted, contemporary reviewers raved at how much better it was than the econo-boxes that Toyota was known for. Consistent with the design ethos of the 1980s and 1990s, each generation of the Supra had the looks that impressed performance car buyers. The savvy enthusiast could buy a Supra, spending far less than would be needed to slide behind the wheel of a Porsche or Corvette, and get a superior car.
Especially in the choked-out early 1980s, running an inline six- cylinder engine was a ticket to exciting performance. The native torque of the engine combined with the light weight and near- perfect balance of the Supra made the car a joy to drive fast. Even the early models with MacPherson struts in the front and semi- trailing arm rear suspension were matching the design technology of much more expensive cars of the day, such as the Porsche 944.
And then the Supra got better. With each generation, Toyota brought their leading model up as far as the state of that era’s art would allow. Drivers appreciated the Supra’s comfortable seats and interior laid out with typical Toyota attention to detail as much as they enjoyed the responsive steering and road-holding capabilities. With each successive generation, the Supra became more and more the affordable performance car that others were measured against.
By 1997, the Supra was competing head-to-head against the all- new C5 Corvette and the BMW E36 M3 for the top honors in Car and Driver magazine’s handling comparisons. For the record, although the editors rated the Supra in third after the M3 and the Vette, that’s some lofty company.
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