Monday 20th May 2019

TRD goes to town on new Supra

Toyota Racing Development celebrates the Supra's arrival in the only way it knows how

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We knew TRD parts were coming for the new Supra. We knew because it's precisely the sort of thing that Toyota Racing Development's employees are paid to dream up. And because they told us earlier in the year. Now, off the back of an official enthusiast gathering to celebrate the Supra's return to the JDM, it has finally put some meat on the bones of what was previously a sketched teaser.

The meat in this case is made from carbon fibre, which has been cunningly woven into a variety of aerodynamic-enhancing ancillaries. Except for the 20-spoke, 19-inch wheels of course, which are forged aluminium and very fetching indeed.

The subjective appeal of the rest you can decide for yourself. For our money, the side skirts and duckbill spoiler look rather good, although there is a huge amount of canarding (definitely a word) going on when you stand back.

There are other sacrifices, too. The three-piece front splitter shaves 14mm from the Supra's ground clearance and the door inserts block off the side intakes (although apparently they are only included to feed air to future aftermarket modifications anyway, and the standard Supra is more than capable of surviving without them).

Nevertheless, the bits are not just for show; save for the mirror caps, TRD claims increased downforce and reduced lift from its glossy efforts. Which is appropriate because it's been suggested that the price for the whole lot is almost certain to run into five figures.

You won't have to worry about that just yet though as a) the Supra has only just landed in Europe, and b) the TRD parts are, at the very least, a long way behind having only just launched in Japan. We'd imagine the US is on the list next. Unless you fancy buying from a Japanese distributor and having them shipped to Blighty, of course. But we'd wait until the tuner unveils the truly massive rear spoiler that you can absolutely guarantee it is also working on...

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IMAGE CREDIT: TRD

[Hot Knife]

But when will there be an engine that lives up to the Legend of Supra?

[Engelberger]

That looks like something Kahn would do. Turn an already ugly car into an ugly car for rich chavs.

No thanks.

[poo at Paul's]

fake air ducts?

Does look a bit crap

[Leggy]

Makes BMW’s version look better!

[Colonel D]

I don't think there's much they can do with the styling to make it look better or more distinguished from a Z4. The Supra just looks like an ugly kit on a Z4, now with added carbon bits.

[mrclav]

poo at Paul's said:

fake air ducts?

Does look a bit crap

If you watch Doug Demuro's review on youtube, he mentions that, interestingly, he was told by Toyota that the engineers have made those ducts so that when the tuners get their hands on them, they can be made 'real', ie all the plastic bits can be removed so that airflow can be improved, the brakes can be cooled better etc.

Essentially, the car is designed to be sold then modified - they've even left out things like strut bracing in the engine bay but you can see the holes where bracing can be attached. One must remember that the Supra is possibly one of the most modified Japanese exports (besides the GTR) so I guess Toyota is supplying a 'blank slate' to let people go crazy on.

Also interesting in that video is the mention that the engine was taken into Toyota and checked against their own standards of performance and they approved it; this isn't a small deal as I'm aware that their testing regime is one of the reasons their cars are known to be so reliable so in a way it's a testament to BMW's engine boffins original design that Toyota didn't feel they needed to mess with it too much...

[bozzy.]

Hot Knife said:

But when will there be an engine that lives up to the Legend of Supra?

[Turbojuice]

bozzy. said:

Hot Knife said:

But when will there be an engine that lives up to the Legend of Supra?

Quite. Change the fking record.

[J4CKO]

Hot Knife said:

But when will there be an engine that lives up to the Legend of Supra?

Yes, what it needs is a turbocharged straight 6, 24 valve engine to make it live up to the legend....

As I said the other day, lets see some engineers/tuners compare them, until then I would say the BMW B58 is every bit as good as a 2JZ, better even as it makes more power, uses less fuel, is lighter and has to meet modern emissions targets.

"Legend of Supra" wasnt that on the SNES ?

And maybe this is to make the normal one look a bit less over styled ?

[samoht]

HKS have it right imo - a drop and some wheels:



(More on Speedhunters: http://www.speedhunters.com/2019/05/we-drive-the-w... )

[mikey P 500]

I though Toyota replaced TRD with gazoo racing or similar, are they going back to the TRD name after all now?

[Mike335i]

Hot Knife said:

But when will there be an engine that lives up to the Legend of Supra?

3.0 twin turbo straight six with 340hp? Already got one sunshine.

[SlimJim16v]

Interesting er, canard, if that's what they are. They're stuck on the side, to give a bit of extra downforce due to the angle, so why do some appear to be backwards?

[Augustus Windsock]

And collectively we have all called the ‘challenging’ styling of the Civic Type R with all its mis-matched shapes, curves and straight lines....
Looks wise it confirms the old saying to me; “you can’t polish a poo”

[ChocolateFrog]

It looks like you could Limbo under that car. The stance just looks terrible.

[ChocolateFrog]

mrclav said:

poo at Paul's said:

fake air ducts?

Does look a bit crap

If you watch Doug Demuro's review on youtube, he mentions that, interestingly, he was told by Toyota that the engineers have made those ducts so that when the tuners get their hands on them, they can be made 'real', ie all the plastic bits can be removed so that airflow can be improved, the brakes can be cooled better etc.

Essentially, the car is designed to be sold then modified - they've even left out things like strut bracing in the engine bay but you can see the holes where bracing can be attached. One must remember that the Supra is possibly one of the most modified Japanese exports (besides the GTR) so I guess Toyota is supplying a 'blank slate' to let people go crazy on.

Also interesting in that video is the mention that the engine was taken into Toyota and checked against their own standards of performance and they approved it; this isn't a small deal as I'm aware that their testing regime is one of the reasons their cars are known to be so reliable so in a way it's a testament to BMW's engine boffins original design that Toyota didn't feel they needed to mess with it too much...

That sounds like total marketing BS.

[ChocolateFrog]

samoht said:

HKS have it right imo - a drop and some wheels:



(More on Speedhunters: http://www.speedhunters.com/2019/05/we-drive-the-w... )

Looks better. The more subtle colour also hides some of the gashes and creases in the bodywork which helps.

[ChocolateFrog]

Toyota could have taken the LC500 and turned it into the Supra very easily, I'm guessing they wanted to do a similar thing to Mazda when they went from RX7 to RX8, namely cheaper and higher volume.

[Scootersp]

Mike335i said:

Hot Knife said:

But when will there be an engine that lives up to the Legend of Supra?

3.0 twin turbo straight six with 340hp? Already got one sunshine.

1993 Mkiii 232bhp
1993 Mkiv 326bhp
2019 Mkv 340bhp (370 say if understated)

So 25 years and less of a leap than the immediate follow up back in 1993.

I know there is a big 0-whatever gain, and advanced diff and gearbox, so a better car, better engine, accepted but it should be easy to see why some feel it's a little disappointing and could have been so much more?

[Big Robbo]

It's not Bumblebee... it's bumblebees Japanese cousin