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The Supra badge is one of the most famous in the automotive world, so when Toyota introduced the GR Supra in 2019, it was a big deal. While there was some grumbling about the Japanese brand’s decision to collaborate with BMW on the project, it was hard to sniff at a new, straight-six-engined rear-wheel drive sports car, and when a manual gearbox was added in 2022, enthusiasts had even fewer reasons to complain.
The latest Toyota Supra has picked up right where its legendary predecessors left off, offering mighty straight-line performance and being handy in the corners too. Yet just like its predecessors, it’s as much a grand tourer as it is an out-and-out sports car, and some rivals are definitely sharper to drive.
While the sports car segment is smaller than it used to be, those rivals include cars like the Porsche Cayman, Alpine A110, and the BMW Z4, the car the Toyota Supra was designed alongside. It’s a diverse market, and one in which the Supra has undoubtedly carved out its own niche.
The Toyota Supra’s history stretches all the way back to the late 1970s, but for many car enthusiasts, the part of the Supra’s heritage that matters most is the fourth-generation car that arrived in 1994. While it wasn’t the sharpest sports car of the era - not even the sharpest from Japan, for that matter - it was powerful, fast, and had striking looks. Appearances in racing, video games, and a rather prominent role in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious cemented its place in history.
All that put the weight of expectation on the fifth-generation Toyota Supra, particularly given the 17-year gap between the fourth-gen car going off sale in Japan in 2002, and the new model arriving in 2019. Badged GR Supra, linking it to Toyota’s Gazoo Racing performance division, it was also developed alongside BMW’s Z4 roadster, the two brands sharing costs for their inline-six sports cars.
This might have made people grumpy at first, but the Toyota Supra has today established its own place in the sports car world. It looks fantastic, goes like stink, and like previous Supras, is also a surprisingly relaxing place to while away longer distances - something that can’t always be said of more focused, lightweight sports cars.
Initially offered with a 3-litre, BMW-sourced turbocharged straight six with an 8-speed automatic gearbox, Toyota has subsequently introduced a cheaper 2-litre four-cylinder model, as well as a six-speed manual gearbox for the six-cylinder car. All send their power to the rear wheels through a limited-slip differential, arguably just as a proper sports car should.
The result is a car that’s very quick and great fun to drive, if not quite as involving or as agile as some rivals. Toyota has definitely made comfort as much a priority as performance, so there’s a well-stocked interior (with more than a few recognisably BMW components), while both engines fade nicely into the background at a cruise.
As for those more involving rivals, it’s still the Porsche Cayman that rules the roost, though a couple of years before the GR Supra arrived, the lightweight Alpine A110 had also been introduced. It’s a very different car in concept, but pricing and performance is actually surprisingly close. With no open-topped Supra available, its BMW Z4 cousin is also worth a look, while GR Supras at the higher end nearly cross over with the brawny BMW M2. But even against all these alternatives, the Supra’s styling, performance, and long-distance legs are an appealing combination.
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It’s difficult not to be tempted by the entry-level 2.0-litre GR Supra. What it loses in outright performance and soundtrack, it gains by being around 100kg lighter, with most of that weight removed from the nose, giving it an agility the 3.0-litre models can’t quite match. The slightly smaller wheels it gets as standard also make the car even more pliant over poor surfaces.
In reality though, the Toyota Supra we really want - and you’ll probably want too - is the 3.0-litre model with the manual gearbox. That combination of a punchy, tuneful engine and shifting your own gears is hard to beat - but they may be difficult to find used for a while, given it was only introduced in 2022 and will surely be sought after on the used market. Seek out Pro trim if you’re interested in upgraded audio systems and leather seats, though these features are far from essential.
The Toyota Supra’s trim levels have expanded somewhat since launch, thanks mainly to the introduction of a manual gearbox for the straight six engine, which receives three trim lines all to itself. That said, you can broadly divide the Supra between standard and Pro specification levels, the latter typically getting a few more desirable albeit not essential toys such as improved audio systems or leather trim. The Supra is well-equipped right from the bottom of the range though, so you’ll want for very little in any model.
The Toyota GR Supra’s dimensions are:
The Toyota GR Supra’s boot size is:
First-year VED or ‘road tax’ rates for the Toyota GR Supra are dictated by the car’s CO2 emissions, meaning a £645 bill for the 2.0-litre car in the 2023/2024 tax year, £1040 for the 3.0-litre auto, and £1565 for the 3.0 manual. With list prices over £40,000, all Supras are then subject to the VED surcharge in years two to six, for an annual bill of £570.
The Toyota GR Supra’s insurance groups fall much where you’d expect them to. A basic 2.0 Pro starts in a reasonable group 34, rising to group 37 for a 3.0-litre model, also in Pro specification. By way of comparison, a BMW Z4 M40i is also in group 37, while an entry-level 2.0-litre Porsche 718 Cayman starts in group 44, as does the Alpine A110.
Read our full Toyota GR Supra review