Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda is the father of the new Supra, something he pretty much admitted to during his launch speech at the Detroit show. According to the charismatic man, the previous Supra was the tool he used in becoming a ‘master driver’* (again, his own words), spending many hours in control of the car.
The Nurburgring circuit was one of the places where lessons took place, which unfortunately meant that he had to share it with other manufacturers. The only problem was that others brought the latest prototypes for future production while he was not only driving an old sports car, it was no longer even in production. So despite Toyota at that time having no plans to resurrect the Supra, Akio secretly wanted one. It just so happens that a small group of designers at Toyota’s Calty Design Research in America was working on the FT-1 concept… and Akio saw it.
“A few years ago... they showed me a concept they called the FT-1... and as if I needed any more persuading... they managed to get their prototype put into the Gran Turismo video game” Akio said in his speech.
“Because for me it was Game Over. At that moment...I knew my old friend was coming home.”
Another thing in Akio-san’s speech that intrigued me was when he mentioned about the car in Fast & Furious. “It's been 17 years since the last Supra rolled off the line...and it famously beat that Ferrari in the "Fast and the Furious"...but affection for the Supra is as strong as ever,” he had said.
That particular scene is never something I refer to when talking about the new Supra. But now that Akio has, let’s go deeper. In case you need to see that particular scene, check out the film clip here. Anyway, we’ll have to replace the Ferrari 355 Spider to something contemporary, and the current equivalent is the 488 Spider (Portofino is front-engined). The 488 has a twin-turbo V8 good for 661bhp and 759Nm of torque. Not a good start for the Toyota, then.
|
|
New Toyota Supra |
Ferrari 488 Spider |
|
Engine |
3.0L, inline-6, twin-turbo |
3.9L, V8, twin turbo |
|
Engine output |
335bhp, 500Nm |
661bhp, 759Nm |
|
Transmission |
8-speed auto, RWD |
7-speed dual-clutch, RWD |
|
Performance |
0-100kph: 4.3s, - |
0-100kph: 3.0s, 325kph+ |
|
Weight |
1,520kg |
1,525kg |
Looks like no contest, then. Almost twice the horses, much torquier, and faster gearbox makes the Italian much quicker off the blocks. Then again, this does not take into account the Fast Furious/Hollywood factor, e.g. unlimited gear ratios, use of NOS, non-Yankee car must-not-lose, etc. What sort of mods would the new Supra need to win a race against this Ferrari?
* Make no mistake, this is one of the few car company chiefs who are actively racing and regularly hit the racing tracks for fun. The return of Toyota in making exciting cars… it’s all pretty much driven by him. Proper petrol-head for sure.
