Toyota GR Supra road test: A worthy successor?

The Toyota Supra is one of those cars that any motoring enthusiast has in mind when thinking of a car with the recipe every sports car should have: front engine and rear-wheel drive. After 20 years in which the automotive landscape has been brutally transformed, the Toyota GR Supra road test shows us once again that yes, there is still hope for those of us who love to enjoy driving.

Just as happened in its day with Mercedes-Benz, at that moment when we were told that something was changing at the brand with the star, something is happening at Toyota. The brand that had accustomed us to churning out hybrid cars and that has supplied the taxi fleets of big cities has decided that its range needs cars that you buy with your heart, and how good that is.

It all began with the Toyota Yaris GRMN, a souped-up version of the brand’s city car capable of delivering 212 horsepower and making it clear that all of the competition heritage of the Japanese brand is very much alive in the minds of its engineers.

Well, the Toyota GR Supra is now the cherry on top of this approach. Toyota has relaunched what is perhaps the most legendary model in its history, and what a way to do it. For some months the brand had been dropping teasers about what was to be its new sports car, also revealing that it would be developed jointly with BMW.

Many purists tore their hair out but, what is the problem with two brands with experience in creating sports cars such as BMW and Toyota joining forces to develop a model for each brand? Well, after testing the new Toyota GR Supra, it has become clear to us that this is not a problem, but rather a real masterstroke.

A car that you fall in love with at first sight

This car is one of those sports cars that seduce you the moment you see them. The first thing that catches the eye as we approach it is its powerful, long bonnet, which takes up practically half of the car. Besides the length of the nose, this is because the car’s dimensions are quite compact, at 4,379 mm in length.

If we keep visually going over its stance, we can also see that the car is very wide (1,854 mm), low (1,292 mm) and that the wheelbase is short (2,470 mm). This combination of dimensions is noticeable when driving it, since it is obvious that they are largely responsible for the car’s brilliant handling, although we will talk about that later.

The profile of the new Toyota GR Supra is truly seductive, with a coupé silhouette of the old school that culminates in the “ducktail” spoiler at the rear and 19-inch wheels fitted with 255/35 tyres on the front axle and 275/35 on the rear.

Toyota has not let any part of its new sports car leave anyone indifferent, so the rear could be no exception. Its flattened tail with teardrop-shaped lights, together with the twin exhaust outlet, its diffuser and the unmistakable “Supra” badge presiding over the whole, makes our heart race as soon as we get near it.

A well-resolved cabin

If we step into the cabin, the feeling of infatuation does not fade at any moment, quite the opposite. As could not be otherwise, the Toyota GR Supra has a two-seat layout, as the manufacturer has saved itself from fitting token rear seats like those of its little brother, the GT86.

The driving position is excellent: the posture is very low, with your backside close to the tarmac, and visibility is good, although it is true that the A-pillar can reduce visibility somewhat when sizing up a bend on mountain roads.

All the controls fall easily to hand, the steering wheel is the ideal size, the paddles are very comfortable and the seats hold you well in corners (we say well because they are not excellent either). The digital instrument cluster has the rev counter and the gear engaged in its central section, with the speed on the left and another display on the right that offers a great deal of information to the driver.

Furthermore, Toyota has gone all out to ensure that passengers enjoy an environment full of good materials with a flawless feel. BMW’s hand can be felt in aspects such as the climate controls or those of the infotainment system but, as we said before, there is little problem with Toyota “borrowing” some parts from a brand like BMW.

An impeccable “performance-handling” relationship

Under the long bonnet of the new Toyota GR Supra sits a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder inline engine mounted longitudinally. The brand has focused heavily on keeping the centre of gravity very low (lower than in the GT86) and on getting the ideal weight distribution, so this engine is the ideal one to achieve that goal.

This engine is another of the points of connection between BMW and Toyota. It develops 340 horsepower and 500 Nm of torque, so it is able to push the Toyota Supra to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and make its beautiful bodywork reach a top speed electronically limited to 250 km/h.

The Toyota GR Supra’s engine gives its best between 5,000 and 6,500 rpm, so stretching it to the red zone of the rev counter and listening to the roar of the six cylinders combined with the slight whistle of the turbocharger becomes something addictive.

This engine is paired with an eight-speed ZF torque-converter automatic gearbox. Although yours truly is no fan of this type of system and prefers a dual-clutch one, it must be said that the behaviour of this one is completely flawless. When pushed, the shifts between gears are very quick and when using the paddles, the gearbox responds promptly by engaging the gear requested.

In addition, another of the factors that cannot fail in a sports car with the ambitions of the Toyota Supra is the limited-slip differential. Gazoo Racing, the brand’s sports department that has taken charge of developing the car, has fitted an active differential that adjusts continuously from 0 to 100% lock.

The Toyota GR Supra is fun and forgiving

The combination of all these ingredients makes the Toyota GR Supra an exquisite dish. When tackling a mountain pass, the car has spectacular stability and also makes the car very forgiving. A large part of the credit also goes to the steering, with a firm and direct feel that gives the driver perfect feedback.

We also had the opportunity to test the car at the famous Jarama circuit near Madrid. The Toyota GR Supra’s behaviour was excellent at all times, showing that it is an easy car to drive with very predictable reactions, so it is easy to correct the slight oversteer the car showed at some critical points such as the descent into the Bugatti corner.

However, one of the points that perhaps can be improved is the brakes. The Toyota GR Supra fits ventilated discs of 348 x 36 mm at the front and 345 x 24 mm at the rear which, after being punished for a few laps at the Jarama Circuit, showed some signs of fade.

One of the points that perhaps will not please the most nostalgic is that the handbrake is electric. We maintain that in this type of car it should be a lever, since it is a resource that the most expert drivers may miss when wanting to unsettle the rear axle of their car. However, the aftermarket for this car will be enormous, so we will be able to see drift conversions such as this Toyota Supra of the Japanese driver Daigo Sato with the legendary 2JZ engine under its bonnet.

One of the biggest surprises in the Toyota is that, besides having completely flawless behaviour in sporty driving, it can be comfortable for making a long-distance journey. The cushioning of the seats and the adaptive variable suspension, which changes its firmness depending on the driving mode we activate (normal or sport), means that our tailbone arrives safe and sound at our destination.

Two equipment levels

The Toyota GR Supra will have two equipment packs: Active and Premium. The Active trim already comes with really complete equipment, with items such as 19-inch forged wheels, the active differential, adaptive variable suspension, Alcantara sports seats or a navigation system.

On the other hand, the Premium trim adds to the equipment already found on the Active version some items such as black leather seats, a sound system by JBL, front camera, wireless phone charger or an interior lighting pack.

In addition, both trims include the Toyota Safety Sense+ pack. This features items such as adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detector, traffic sign recognition, pre-collision system with pedestrian detection or adaptive headlights with LED daytime running lights.

An expensive car or a cheap sports car?

The price of the Toyota GR Supra has already been announced: to get your hands on the evolution of the 2019 Toyota Supra in Active trim, you will have to shell out no less than 69,900 euros, for which the brand will also give you 4 years of free maintenance.

Another option for getting hold of the Japanese sports car is to do so through the leasing offered by the brand. If you choose this alternative, you will have to pay a monthly fee of 1,030 euros plus VAT for 48 months. Deliveries of the Toyota Supra GR Sport will begin in October of this year.

The Toyota GR Supra is not a cheap car and, in fact, the brand expects to sell 40 or 50 units a year in our country. However, this is not the kind of car you buy with your head, you buy it with your heart: it is beautiful, it is a car that is fun like few others and it will offer you satisfactions very similar to those offered by a Porsche 911, all for half the price of the German sports car. Seen this way, it even seems cheap, doesn’t it?