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| © Alex Bernstein Delivering huge thrills at a low price, the Toyota Supra GR is back and ready for a new cult following. |
In Los Angeles, land of cool cars, it’s very
likely your fancy automobile will be flat-out ignored. Ferrari? “Meh.
Seen that.” Porsche? That’s practically the People’s Car here. But the
new Toyota GR Supra? Folks in pickup trucks will come up to you for
selfies. Guys in business suits will flash thumbs-ups. People will
shout, “SUUUPRA!” It’s like that rare approachable celebrity that
everyone wants to give a high five.
It’s been more than twenty
years since a new Supra hit the streets of America, and it took some
unconventional international alliances to conjure. The car is a
collaboration between Toyota (Japan) and BMW (Germany) and is built in
the city of Graz (Austria). As it shares a platform and a drivetrain
with the BMW Z4, there is the question: Is this a real Supra, like the
tuner legend of the mid-nineties that’s been seared into the minds of
young people via racing games? We’ll leave that to the vocal commenters
on the Supra subreddit.
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| © Alex Bernstein Toyota Supra |
What we can tell you definitively: It is pure joy on four
wheels. Short with a wide, agile stance, it will leave you with a stupid
smile as you toss it through winding roads with speed, or even just
cruise through town, its 335 hp, 365 lb-ft inline-6 tuned to still
emanate an attention-grabbing burble. It does all of this straight out
of the box. But it is a Supra, so expect to be asked how you’ve, ahem,
souped it up.
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| © Alex Bernstein Toyota Supra |
While the future is electric, the Supra makes a big case for the
internal combustion engine in a way no one-percent V-12 supercar ever
could. The thrill of a rumbling two-seater is primal and real, and it
should live on in a stylish vehicle with a non-bank-account-busting
price—it starts at $50,945. Sports cars need to be for everyone, and the
new Supra delivers. Power to the people.
