RE: Toyota GR Supra: Driven

[Scootersp]

300bhp/ton said:

PaulB1 said:

Perhaps the wrong model has been used here, maybe Celica would have been more appropriate for the level of performance on offer. A Supra should be able to keep up with a GT-R.

Why? Or are you talking bks? On what rational or factual level can you support this position?

Btw you do realise this new Supra is both faster and more powerful than the old one.

His rationale is that the Supra was always jostling with the 300zx, the skylines gto's etc the cars you stated earlier. In his eyes the Supra should still be, a view that's easy to understand. Honda took the NSX name there, Toyota have done a bit of a Mazda with the RX8 after the RX7 a seemingly backwards step in the modern market of the time. Nissan raised the bar with the R35 and Toyota haven't tried to challenge them. It's up to them but again easy to see why some would prefer a R35 competitor even with a higher price tag.

The new one may be quicker but it is 2-3 'usual' iterations down the line, mk2 to about an old C/D Reg, mkiii to J/K Reg Mkiv to around 98 (few hundred more to 2001 in Japan), so to some if this had come out in maybe 2005 it's a leap, 2019 less so.

Saying all this anything sub 5 secs to 60 and sub 10secs to 100mph is a serious big of kit Supra GTR of whatever, look forward to seeing one my first on the road.

[JohnnyMac]

I honestly can't get over how bad the exterior looks.

[CraigV6]

They made a mess of this opportunity.

Looks awful (inside and out), too heavy, no manual, too expensive.

[Redline88]

SydneySE said:

The fact that only an auto is offered is not surprising, if it was pitched as a big GT coupe as previous supra's, but this:

"...sudden engine braking jolt you get with every downshift in Sport mode both feels just right for a sports car as apparently purposeful as this one, while also helping to settle the rear end as you dive into a braking zone."

is just wrong for a sports car; the whole point of heel 'n toe in a manual gearbox car was to PREVENT a jolt; having the car "jolt" on downshift is only useful if you're a drifter... if the whole point of advancing technology of auto boxes is to be better than manuals, then you'd think they would make downshifts seamless (a la DSG boxes).

This seems to have come up a few times now (including by myself) - it just makes no sense what is written! What is the author on about for a start when stating that the jolt ‘settles the car’. Shouldn’t the auto be a seamlessly smooth transition??

(Edited for spelling!)

Edited by Redline88 on Wednesday 15th May 23:05

[RobDickinson]

A jolt isnt what you want on the edge round a corner..

[robertmcf99]

What a lard ass. 1570kgs. 470 more than the Alpine. And no doubt you would feel every the extra kilos at every turn.

[Vpsteve]

At that pricing point I can't see me getting out of my Cayman to buy one I don't think . The car is probably an intro level making way for future upgrades ..... then lets have another look.....

[J4CKO]

robertmcf99 said:

What a lard ass. 1570kgs. 470 more than the Alpine. And no doubt you would feel every the extra kilos at every turn.

Same weight as the MK4 then,

An Alpine is an entirely different class of car, 90 bhp less and two cylinders down, mid engined vs front engined, and probably less kit.

[Mr Tidy]

As the owner of a BMW Z4 Coupe I really wanted to like this - I don't like Roadsters!

But it looks a bit over-styled to me, but I suppose that's not unusual on Japanese cars. Mind you the GT86 has a much "cleaner" look so it can be done!

And people complain about the BMW input in the Supra, but without that it wouldn't have happened. After all there is much more Subaru input in the GT86 than Toyota input but people don't seem to mind that.

I'm not a fan of electronic handbrakes, but I'm not surprised given that the E89 Z4 had one. But plenty of owners have had them fail, requiring a costly trip to the dealer for a "software upgrade"! In over 40 years of mechanical handbrakes I've never had one fail - why fix what ain't broke?

But my biggest disappointment is the power output - after all 340 bhp isn't much more that a hot-hatch these days. And the lack of a manual gearbox, but according to Toyota that may happen.

Still I'm not in the market for a £50K car, but I would have liked to think these may be on the radar for the future.

Never mind, I'm off to look at a BMW Z4M Coupe next week - 343 bhp and a manual gearbox!

[cerb4.5lee]

J4CKO said:

robertmcf99 said:

What a lard ass. 1570kgs. 470 more than the Alpine. And no doubt you would feel every the extra kilos at every turn.

Same weight as the MK4 then,

An Alpine is an entirely different class of car, 90 bhp less and two cylinders down, mid engined vs front engined, and probably less kit.

With both of them not offering a manual gearbox I would edge towards the Alpine too I think. The lighter weight appeals to me more than the lack of cylinders.

If both were offered with a manual gearbox though then it becomes a more difficult choice. It is a sorry state of affairs though for me that modern sports cars are mostly auto only now.

[forzaminardi]

I think I love it.

Any info on when it'll be available / how much it'll cost in Australia?

[rallycross]

forzaminardi said:

I / how much it'll cost in Australia?

1 million auzzie dollars! (not much then).

[Pommy]

rallycross said:

forzaminardi said:

I / how much it'll cost in Australia?

1 million auzzie dollars! (not much then).

probably not wrong.

Im in Oz and have a bit of chat about $85k plus on roads so probably $100k for the firsts ones after taxes and mark ups.

Quite a restricted supply i understand so probably even overs with a likely few chancers at $120k...

[Slow]

Pommy said:

rallycross said:

forzaminardi said:

I / how much it'll cost in Australia?

1 million auzzie dollars! (not much then).

probably not wrong.

Im in Oz and have a bit of chat about $85k plus on roads so probably $100k for the firsts ones after taxes and mark ups.

Quite a restricted supply i understand so probably even overs with a likely few chancers at $120k...

I assume you can just buy one in Japan and get it over on a boat if supply is really short.

[loudlashadjuster]

E65Ross said:

OK, I shall elaborate.

With the automatic parking brake on my old 7 series this was how it worked:

Drive along and come to a stop. Once stopped, the automatic parking brake would come on. You remove your foot from the brake pedal and you don't move. You then put your foot on the accelerator, the parking brake releases and you move off.

I can't see how this is worse than a manual parking brake? It never failed, it never needed adjusting (like several manual handbrakes do when cable tension reduces). For general driving and parking, how is a manual brake better than that? It occupies extra space in the cabin, too.

This. Correctly implemented they are brilliant and you can simply forget about them. Bemoaning the loss of a crude lever, cable and ratchet taking up space in the cabin is like being sad at the loss of manual chokes or ignition advance controls.

Massive caveat though for those manufacturers who do not manage to implement automatic parking brakes correctly though. Severe finger wag for you lot!

[T-195]

Bargain compared with the NSX. Is it worth double the money of the far cooler 370z?

No.

[cerb4.5lee]

loudlashadjuster said:

E65Ross said:

OK, I shall elaborate.

With the automatic parking brake on my old 7 series this was how it worked:

Drive along and come to a stop. Once stopped, the automatic parking brake would come on. You remove your foot from the brake pedal and you don't move. You then put your foot on the accelerator, the parking brake releases and you move off.

I can't see how this is worse than a manual parking brake? It never failed, it never needed adjusting (like several manual handbrakes do when cable tension reduces). For general driving and parking, how is a manual brake better than that? It occupies extra space in the cabin, too.

This. Correctly implemented they are brilliant and you can simply forget about them.

I have a terrible habit of forgetting to put the handbrake on(spent 4 years putting a car with an auto in the garage and I always left the handbrake off). So now I really appreciate the electric handbrake in the Merc because it goes on and off without me doing a thing.

I still have to worry about if I'm going to roll into something in the Mini/370Z though...because they still have a manual handbrake!

[Phils-Fast]

I'm at odds with this, no point comparing to the mk4 supra as that was literally a different era. These will be no doubt, hugely tuneable and some pretty tidy bodykits are already under development.

Kind of agree that id like to see them challenging supercars of now with the new supra as they did back in the 90's and as Nissan did with the GTR r35.

Its like they have remade the supra for 2019 with very similar specs to the original car, whereas it should be higher power and a bit more nutty (Japanese)

If you want a Toyota supercar now though there's always a Lexus LFA, that should have been badged Supra in the first place.

[P-Jay]

I've been reading a lot about the new Supra, which is usual for me as I don't usually give 2 sts about new cars, well until they're no longer new and I can afford them.

Things I've read that were interesting, admittedly Sniff Petrol started this, but I've also see it elsewhere only less overtly. People seem to forget that all previous Supras, including the now almost mythical Mk4 were a bit crap, and like so many other cars if it hadn't been in a film almost no one would care about it now.

More than that, almost every Supra fun is a 'modder' so giving a de-tuned Z40i (I think) engine that's no doubt just a map away from lots of nice easy safe power probably makes sense. As does all the unused mounting points for spoilers, vents and braces.

[Shappers24]

I still really like it, and if I could justify spending £50k on a car I’d have one in a heart beat. Then again I’ve always been a bit of a Toyota fan boy.