In the past, before I was into the S2k, a neighbor around my block owned a stock, black, twin turbo MKIV Supra. It was bought brand new in 1997. I didn't know what it was back then. It looked alien, made sounds that were out of this world, and radiated this aura of intimidation and lust all at the same time. Before you realize the obvious, let me tell you first that I was practically obsessed. However, I haven't seen the car in a very long time, maybe because it was sold, but since the late 90s, it was the car I idolized growing up.

Being a teenager, ignorant and close minded as we all were, I was only into cars that excelled and dominated in the straight line department (keep in mind it was a time before Japanese AWD sport sedans ever hit the market) and in this era, and in my humble opinion, the Supra was reputed as THE highway king.

Of course, we all know that the street racing scene has since died, and as an adult, I'm now more into HPDE and Autocross, mainly because it's safety, it's competitiveness, it's strong community for auto enthusiasts who weren't into just straight lines anymore, and how much fun you can have legally driving well past the speed limit. It's the reason why I own the S - acclaimed by many journalists as one of the best track cars your average enthusiast can own. It's affordable, reliable, agile and has a drivetrain that felt like a sport bike on wheels. These are things that the s2ki community are already well aware of.

In comparison to the Supra, I dare say that I can almost never imagine the Supra in that element. Be it the years of only knowing the Supra as a straight line car, or just plain ignorance that, perhaps, maybe it's common to find a Supra doing Autocross and HPDE :shrugs: I just can't, even now, see a supra going toe to toe with cars that are commonly found on a road course.

But last night, I saw the stock, black, twin turbo MKIV Supra again. All my thoughts of light, agile cars on the track went completely blank, and I just stood there, jaw dropped and in awe. The looks were still just as menacing as they were before, and it was like being thrown into a time machine back to 1997, falling in love with this beautiful, unstoppable beast. A legend in its own right.

I type this up not because I'm having thoughts of getting rid of my S for a Supra, but because of an old love for a car as a teenager. Sometimes, I like to day dream about finally owning a car just like it, unmolested and mint as oem can be. What's crazy is that even after more than 10 years, the value of this car literally has not dropped significantly at all. As alien is this car was, it's still trapped in time, not just in reality but in my heart as well.

/rant

 

Make a new one, in the same fashion as the FR-S but with more of everything (3000lbs is fine) and price it $40-50K and I'd order one in a heartbeat. I really like the FR-S/BRZ but it's a little too "boy-ish" for me; but as a track car, I can see it has many potentials, but I don't track.

 

I love the looks, hate the price.

 

The Supra has always been a great GT car. It's a shame it, and so many other cars, got popular with the street racing crowds.

 

Still one of my favorite cars. I would love a nasty built highway Supra - HKS T51R with a TRD or Top Secret widebody - Yesh please!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN3Ts8uACKM

Still one of the best sounding cars in the world!

 

I miss my Supra more than my S2K. The sounds they make are great and the turbo lag makes the car feel like it's more powerful than it actually is because of the huge rush of torque.

 

I owned a '97 15th Ann Ed TT w/ 480 hp/480 tq. It was a great car, but I traded it in on my first S2000 in Feb. '01 and haven't looked back.

 

Supra's aren't slow around corners either... They posted something like a .95-.95G on the skidpad. Majority of people that own them don't really take them around road courses.

 

I think it's a closet love-hate thing with Supras. I mean, they have everything you'd want in a car but at the same time I doubt most people would buy it over any other car. I think they're awesome but I won't ever own one. I don't understand it myself but I think its because its not known for the "fun factor".