Toyota Supra

The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Corporation from 1978 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the A70 Supra became a separate model from the Celica. In turn, Toyota also stopped using the prefix Celica and began just calling the car Supra. Owing to the similarity and past of the Celica's name, it is frequently mistaken for the Supra, and vice versa. First, second, and third generation Supras were assembled at Tahara plant in Tahara, Aichi while the fourth generation Supra was assembled at the Motomachi plant in Toyota City.

The Supra also traces much of its roots back to the Toyota 2000GT with the main instance being its engine[citation needed]. The first three generations were offered with a direct descendant to the Toyota Crown's and 2000GT's M engine. All four generations of Supra produced have an inline 6-cylinder engine. Interior aspects were also similar, as was the chassis code "A"

Along with this name and car Toyota also included its own logo for the Supra. It is derived from the original Celica logo, being blue instead of orange. This logo was used until January 1986, when the A70 Supra was introduced. The new logo was similar in size, with orange writing on a red background, but without the dragon design. That logo, in turn, was on Supras until 1991 when Toyota switched to its current oval company logo. (the dragon logo was a Celica logo regardless of what color it was. It appeared on the first two generations of the Supra because they were officially Toyota Celicas. The dragon logo was used for the Celica line until it too was discontinued.)

In 1998, Toyota ceased sales of the Supra in the United States and in 2002 Toyota officially stopped production of the Supra in Japan

Generation names are A40, A60, A70, A80. A Popular trend Started by American owners was to name the cars using Volkswagen Mark terms but this was never adopted by Toyota nor has ever been used in any of It's publications the "Official" names refer to the chassis codes only. Toyota uses, the name Mark II to refer to its X chassis platform cars that Include the Mark II, Cressida, Chaser and Cresta models.

The Supra has appeared in numerous video games, movies, music videos and TV shows. Some of the most notable appearances include the Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Midnight Club,and Forza Horizon 2 video games and The Fast and the Furious film series.

With this version Toyota took a big leap in the direction of a more serious high-performance car. Again using subframe, suspension,and drivetrain assemblies from the Z30 Soarer (Lexus SC300/400), test model pre-production started in December 1992 with 20 models, and official mass production began in April 1993. The new Supra was completely redesigned, with rounded body styling and featured two new engines: a naturally aspirated Toyota 2JZ-GE producing 220 hp (164 kW; 223 PS) at 5800 rpm and 210 lb·ft (280 N·m) at 4800 rpm of torque and a twin turbocharged Toyota 2JZ-GTE making 276 hp (206 kW; 280 PS) and 318 lb·ft (431 N·m) of torque for the Japanese version. The styling, while modern, does seem to borrow some elements from Toyota's first grand touring sports car, the Toyota 2000GT. For the export model (America/Europe) Toyota upgraded the Supra turbo's engine (smaller, steel wheeled turbochargers, bigger fuel injectors, etc.). This increased the power output to 320 hp (239 kW; 324 PS) at 5600 rpm and 315 lb·ft (427 N·m) at 4000 rpm. (326 hp / 325lbft for Europe)

The turbocharged variant could achieve 0–60 mph in as low as 4.6 seconds and 1/4-mile (402 m) in 13.1 seconds at 109 mph (175 km/h).The turbo version was tested to reach over 285 km/h (177 mph), but the cars are restricted to just 180 km/h (112 mph) in Japan and 250 km/h (155 mph) elsewhere. European versions of the car also had an air intake or scoop on the hood. Drag coefficient is 0.31 for the naturally aspirated models and 0.32 for the turbo models but unknown with the rear spoiler.

The twin turbos operated in sequential mode, not parallel. Initially, all of the exhaust is routed to the first turbine for reduced lag. This resulted in boost and enhanced torque as early as 1800 rpm, where it already produced 300 lb·ft (410 N·m) of torque. At 3500 rpm, some of the exhaust is routed to the second turbine for a "pre-boost" mode, although none of the compressor output is used by the engine at this point. At 4000 rpm, the second turbo's output is used to augment the first turbo's output. Compared to the parallel mode, sequential mode turbos provide quicker low RPM response and increased high RPM boost. This high RPM boost was also aided with technology originally present in the 7M-GE in the form of the Acoustic Control Induction System (ACIS) which is a way of managing the air compression pulses within the intake piping as to increase power.

For this generation, the Supra received a new 6-speed Getrag/Toyota V160 gearbox on the turbo models while the naturally aspirated models made do with a 5-speed manual W58, revised from the previous version. Each model was offered with a 4-speed automatic with manual shifting mode. All vehicles were equipped with 5-spoke aluminium alloy wheels, the naturally aspirated model had 16" rims and the turbo models were 17". The difference in wheel size was to accommodate the larger brakes equipped as standard onto the turbo model, but in Japan were optional extras. Both models had a space saver spare tire on a steel rim to save both space and weight.

Toyota took measures to reduce the weight of this new model. Aluminium was used for the hood, targa top (when fitted), front crossmember, oil and transmission pans, and the suspension upper A-arms. Other measures included hollow carpet fibers, magnesium-alloy steering wheel, plastic gas tank and lid, gas injected rear spoiler, and a single pipe exhaust. Despite having more features such as dual airbags, traction control, larger brakes, wheels, tires, and an additional turbo, the car was at least 200 lb (91 kg) lighter than its predecessor. The base model with a manual transmission had a curb weight of 3,210 lb (1,460 kg). The Sport Roof added 40 lb (18 kg) while the automatic transmission added 55 lb (25 kg). It had a 51:49 (front:rear) weight distribution. The turbo model weighed 3,450 lb (1,560 kg) for the manual, automatic added another 10 lb (4.5 kg). Weight distribution was 53% front/47% rear. The Supra was heavier than the spartan Mazda RX-7 and all aluminium bodiedAcura/Honda NSX, but it was lighter than the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4.

For the 1996 model year in the US, the turbo model was only available with the automatic transmission owing to OBD-II certification requirements. The targa roof was also made standard on all turbo models. For 1997, manual transmission returned for the optional engine along with a redesign of the tail lights, headlights, front fascia, chromed wheels, and other minor changes such as the radio and steering wheel designs. All 1997 models included badges indicating "Limited Edition 15th Anniversary". All turbo models came standard with the rear spoiler. For 1998, updates were a 3-spoke steering wheel and redesigned radio. In Japan, the turbo engines were installed with VVT-i. The SZ-R model was also updated with the introduction of a six-speed Getrag V161 transmission, the same used for the twin-turbo RZ models.

The stock A80 Supra chassis has also proven an effective platform for roadracing, with several top 20 and top 10 One Lap Of America finishes in the SSGT1 class. Despite its curb weight, in 1994 the A80 managed remarkable skidpad ratings of 0.95 lateral g's (200 ft) and 0.98 lateral g's (300 ft) Supra also featured a four-sensor four-channel track tuned ABS system with yaw control whereby each caliper is sensored and the brakes are controlled individually according to the speed, angle, and pitch of the approaching corner. This unique Formula One-inspired braking system allowed the Supra Turbo to record a 70 mph (113 km/h) -0 braking distance of 149 ft (45 m), the best braking performance of any production car tested in 1997 by Car and Driver magazine. This record was finally broken in 2004 by a Porsche Carrera GT, which does it in 145 ft (44 m) .

The US and UK market Supra featured bigger injectors, steel turbines and bigger inlet cam and had emissions in the range of 259 g/km CO2 despite the addition of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR). The Japanese market Supra had CO2 emissions in the range of 224 g/km.

By the late 90s, sales of all sporty coupes were declining in North America, so the Supra was withdrawn from the Canadian market in 1996 and the US in 1998. The Turbo was not available in 1998 in California Air Resources Board (CARB) states. Production continued in Japan until August 2002, ceasing owing to restrictive emission standards.

Motor Trend has reported a possible Supra successor could be based on the Toyota FT-HS (Future Toyota-Hybrid Sport), which debuted at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. A Supra successor could be powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 hybrid system generating over 400 hp. Toyota says it is not rushing the Supra successor but instead is waiting to see how the sales and interests of its GT86/FR-S goes.

In 2010, Toyota applied for a trademark to the Supra name. The trademark must be used within three years for it to be valid. In December 2011, Autoguide reported a possible Supra replacement that would sit above the Toyota 86. Tetsuya Tada, the chief engineer of the Toyota 86/Scion FR-S told reporters in Germany "the president (Akio Toyoda) has asked me to make a successor to the Supra as soon as possible."

In late 2013, AutoBlog reported a Supra successor concept was coming to the January 2014 North American International Auto Show. On January 13, Toyota unveiled its new FT-1 concept car. Little is known about this new concept car; other than that it has a front engine and rear wheel drive layout. Toyota did also state their new concept car draws inspiration from Toyota's past sports cars like the 2000GT, Supra, MR-2, and 2007 FT-HSconcept car. Toyota did not state whether the FT-1 would use the Supra name, or if it was even bound for production. However, Toyota did say if the FT-1 is approved from production to expect a price tag of around US$60,000.

On February 10, 2014, Toyota submitted an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to renew the Supra trademark.