The Bite Magazine - Summer 2019 - Issue 25

Toyota GR Supra THE LEGEND RETURNS Reviving one of their most sought after models, Toyota brings back the Supra but in a Gazoo Racing version. Jada Brookes looks back on the history of the Supra and at the new 2019 model. bite cars B ack in the late 1970s, when Toyota was looking to give their longer, wider and more powerful version of the second-generation Celica coupé a name, they settled on ‘Supra’. It was designed and developed in an effort to compete in the popular grand tourer market in the Japanese and North American mar- kets which at that time was ruled almost exclusively by Datsun’s Z-cars. Designed with a newly advanced six-cylinder engine, an improvement on the four-cylinder engine found in the Celica, the new Supra provided a more luxurious ride and exhilarating driving experience. After four generations, from 1978 to 2002, production of the Supra ceased. In hia- tus for almost 20 years, the Japanese marque decided to revive their classic sports car as the all-new Toyota GR Supra in 2019. Amazingly, after it was first unveiled at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit earlier this year, Toyota already had buyers lining up, with the first deliveries being made in late summer this year. It is perhaps the ‘Condensed Extreme’ modern design that highlights its power agility and evokes the romance of classic styling from Toyota’s sports car heritage that grabbed their attention. This fifth-generation model consisting of a two-seat cabin with a perfectly driver-fo- cused cockpit is said to be inspired by the feel and layout of single-seater race cars. The first global GR model produced by Toyota Gazoo Racing has been conceived as a sports car in its purest form, with no compromise that would diminish the pleasure of the driving experience. Chief Engineer, Tetsuya Tada, has adhered to the classic form of a front-mounted, straight six-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels, building on the heritage of Toyota’s past Supra generations and original 2000 GT sports car. Driving Capacity Equipped with a 3.0-litre engine, this power source benefits from a twin-scroll tur- bocharger that produces 335bhp/250kW and 500Nm of torque. It is coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission characterised by a smooth and powerful accelera- tion, with large amounts of torque available across the full spectrum of engine speeds. Thanks to this, driving enthusiasts can look forward to an exhilarating blend of power, agility and precision handling that is achieved through the car’s combination of a short wheelbase and wide track, lightweight, low centre of gravity and highly rigid body. Using the paddle shifts on the steering wheel, the driver can select Normal or Sport driving modes to suit their preferences and road conditions. The IA Launch Control enables powerful acceleration from standstill with maximum traction from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph. In Sport mode, the engine sound and response, shift pattern, damping, steering and active differential performance are ad- justed. The Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) has a special ‘track’ setting that can reduce the level of system intervention so that the driver has greater control of the vehicle’s dynamic performance.