Here's a car that represents one of the more remarkable automotive metamorphoses in recent memory. Over the course of its first three renewals, the Toyota Supra evolved as an increasingly overstuffed, over-weight personal luxury car. Though it was portrayed as a high-performance sport coupe, its true character fell more into the realm of rolling hedonism.

That era ended decisively in January 1993 when Toyota rolled out the current Supra, an automobile that turned its back on its own pudgy past and became a real sports car - taut, aggressive, com-petent, and lighter than its predecessor.
Although the Supra still has a re-spectable range of luxury-car features, it emphasizes sports-car virtues that include decisive handling, exceptional braking, and plenty of smooth power. As a result, the Supra takes its place with the best sports cars of our time: the Mazda RX7, Chevrolet Corvette, Nissan 300ZX, and Porsche 911.

Unchanged for 1995, the Supra comes in two basic editions, Turbo and non-Turbo, and both offer motoring alfresco if you order the optional removable roof panel. We went with the base model, which boasted impressive standard equipment such as anti-lock brakes (ABS), air conditioning, power mirrors and locks, and cruise control. Total cost: $37,757.

Toyota's stylists wanted to make it clear that their new Supra was something special, and they succeeded. Though this car lacks the sleek sports-car perfection of the RX-7, it has an unmistakable presence all its own: low, squat, and slightly outrageous, particularly the high-winged Turbo edition. The overall design isn't as well-integrated as its prime rival, the 300ZX, but its weight distribution is exemplary, a key element in this car's balanced handling.

books

sponsored links

With or without turbocharging, the Supra is something of a rolling light show. There are six lights up front, not counting marker lamps, and eight across the stern, not counting the high-mounted centered brake light. It's an arrange-ment that helps to set the Supra apart, and certainly lets other drivers know when you're coming - or going.
Both Supra engines are 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinders, with dual overhead cam-shafts and 24 valves, an engine design that's been under continuous develop-ment at Toyota for a long time. Although an I-6 doesn't lend itself to packaging as well as a V6, it's inherently smoother, as the Supra engine illustrates. It's also potent. Without turbocharging, the Supra engine generates a very respectable 220 hp. With sequential twin turbos - one spinning continuously for good low-speed response, the other kicking in when you want to unleash all the horses - output jumps to 320 hp.

The standard Supra has a 5-speed manual transmission as basic equipment, while Turbo models get a 6-speed. A 4-speed automatic is optional across the board, Turbo and non-Turbo alike.

The cockpit of our Supra was well-organized, attractive and cozy without feeling too claustrophobic. There's more elbow room here than in, say, an RX-7, although the Supra conveys the same kind of race-car ambiance - purposeful comfort, in contrast to the kind of near-opulence of the previous generation.

Most controls are well-marked and easy to find after a brief orientation. A pair of typical Toyota stalks combine several secondary control functions such as lights and wipers. Power-window switches and outside-mirror controls are set into the door panel and are easy to reach. The climate controls are simple to figure out and easy to adjust while the car is moving, but the audio-control push buttons in our test car were on the small side and difficult to manipulate, and the shift lever sits just a trifle high in the center console.
We were a little surprised by the absence of cupholders - sports-car drivers drink coffee just like everyone else, after all - and the coin trays tucked beneath the center console lid aren't particularly useful.