Toyota Supra History: From Glorified Celica to Comeback Kid (2024)

For its first two generations of Supra, Toyota officially names its six-cylinder coupe the Celica Supra. In the beginning, the Supra was basically a six-cylinder Celica. To squeeze the Supra’s larger engine into the smaller Celica, Toyota stretched the wheelbase by 5.1 inches and gave it a different front end design.

About that engine: The original 1979 Celica Supra is powered by a 110-hp 2.6-liter inline-six. A five-speed manual transmission is standard, and a four-speed automatic is optional. In our testing, the torque-rich six pushes the Celica Supra to 60 mph in 11.2 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 18.4 seconds at 76 mph—acceptable for the time but nothing to marvel at. As the first-generation Celica Supra’s run comes to a close, it graduates to a larger 2.8-liter inline-six producing 116 horsepower.

The second-gen Celica Supra bows for the 1982 model year and swaps the old model’s live rear axle for independent semi-trailing arms, a setup that helps earn it fourth place—beating a Ferrari, a Lotus, and two Porsches—in a 1984 Car and Driver comparison test seeking the best-handling imported car. And in 1985, the Toyota finishes second to the Audi Coupe GT in an eight-car battle to determine the best sports coupe in America. Underhood, a new twin-cam 2.8-liter inline-six corrals 145 horses, making it 29 ponies stronger than the single-cam unit it replaced.

Marketed as a 1986.5 model-year vehicle, the third-generation Supra formally ditches the Celica name. The two cars are no longer linked—the smaller four-cylinder Celica moves to a front-wheel-drive platform for 1986, while the Supra remains rear-wheel drive. Although heavier than its predecessor, the latest Supra boasts a new naturally aspirated 200-hp 3.0-liter inline-six.

For 1987, Toyota introduces an even more potent Supra Turbo model. Thanks to the addition of a turbocharger—bet you didn’t see that coming—the Supra Turbo’s boosted straight-six produces 230 horsepower and 246 lb-ft of torque—gains of 30 horses and 61 lb-ft. The additional oomph helps scoot a five-speed manual Supra Turbo we test to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds, 1.6 seconds quicker than the naturally aspirated Supra.

It isn’t until the 1993 model year, though, that the Toyota Supra truly comes into its own. Redesigned from the ground up, the Mark 4 Supra wears swoopy styling that looks like no other Toyota that came before it.

Forced induction remains on the menu. While the standard Supra makes do with a 220-hp 3.0-liter inline-six, the Supra Turbo piles another 100 ponies atop that—courtesy of a pair of turbochargers—for a total of 320. In our testing, a six-speed manual Supra Turbo rockets to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and crosses the quarter-mile marker after 13.8 seconds at 106 mph. Both figures best those posted by the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette, Mazda RX-7, Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4, Nissan 300ZX Turbo, and Porsche 968—all sports cars it beats in our September 1993 comparison test . (In March of that year, we’d coaxed a particularly brisk Supra Turbo to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and through the quarter in 13.1 seconds at 109 mph.) A 1994 Turbo we test later reaches 60 mph in 6.2 seconds.

Alas, the Supra Turbo loses its place atop the comparison-test throne in August 1997, when it is defeated by the BMW M3. Despite placing third (the then new 1997 Chevrolet Corvette takes home silver), the Supra Turbo exhibits dynamics that continue to impress us mightily, and a mere two points separate the Toyota and the BMW in our scoring. Sadly, media praise and factory price cuts weren’t reversing the Supra’s stalled sales. Toyota ditches the Supra in America, and 1998 marks the breed’s final year of U.S. sales.

Although baby boomers ignored the fourth-generation Supra, Gen Xers and millennials hold a special place in their hearts for the sports coupe. As the ’90s progress, young tuners begin picking up secondhand Supras on the used-car market, subsequently turning their prized possessions into autocross contenders, drag-racing darlings, and drift machines. The appearance of a Mark 4 model in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious street-racing flick further cements the Supra’s iconic status.

By the late aughts, rumors spread that Toyota plans to resurrect the Supra nameplate, and Toyota fans the flames with the FT-HS concept car at the 2007 Detroit auto show. The gasoline-electric hybrid coupe concept promises to reach 60 mph in less than 5.0 seconds thanks to 400 horsepower worth of electric motors and a 3.5-liter V-6. Appealing as it is, the FT-HS never sees the light of day outside of the show circuit.

Seven years after pulling the cover off the FT-HS design exercise, Toyota brings another sports car concept to Detroit. This time dubbed FT-1, the low-slung concept car has slinky coupe styling that tugs on fans’ heartstrings. Could this finally signal the Supra’s return?

Not long after the FT-1 lights up the auto-show scene, our intrepid spy photographers snap images of a camouflaged sports car bearing similar proportions and styling details. Then, in mid-2017, Toyota files a trademark for the Supra name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Almost two decades after giving up on the Supra, Toyota appears poised to bring the six-cylinder sports coupe back to life.

Toyota unveils the stunning Gazoo Racing (GR) Supra race car concept at the 2018 Geneva auto show. Set up to compete in various global GT racing series, it features a number of exterior parts derived from those of the forthcoming production Supra, which Toyota finally admits is really happening. While the concept lacks a powertrain, class rules require the race car to be powered by a production-based engine—although not necessarily the engine that powers the production car upon which the race car is based. (Got that?)

Toyota's all-new A90-generation Supra debuts at the 2019 Detroit auto show. It owes much of its development and engineering to BMW, while Toyota is credited for the coupe's styling. The Supra is closely related to BMW's Z4 roadster, and instead of the legendary 2JZ inline-six, it has Munich's turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission. Horsepower stands at 335, although the BMW engine can support slightly more output. Toyota says a four-cylinder model is on its way, and will be priced below the six-cylinder model's $50,920 base MSRP.

When the new Supra debuted its most popular criticism was that it was nothing like the old one. We wanted to quantify why, and find out if that was such a bad thing. Especially as only one of these Supras made our 10Best list. After tracking down a completely original 1994 Toyota Supra Turbo, with only 12,800 miles, we pit the two against each other in Southern California. After our comparison test concluded we found that although the two share some of the same DNA, the new Supra is more than just a lighter and more powerful fresh face.

The 2021 Supra gets to use the more powerful 382-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six that's found in the Z4 M40i meaning 47 horsepower more than before. The power increase only costs 2 mpg in the city and 1 mpg on the highway compared. In addition to the updated engine, Toyota will also now offer a 255-hp turbo four-cylinder option in the U.S., which was already available in Europe and Japan.