Supra Info

[machine40]

Hey everyone, does anyone know intresting things aboutthe supra that sets them apart form other performance cars in the early eighty's?

[Downshift]

Well, they were made by Toyota. Something no Corvette, Mustang, 300ZX, Firebird, etc. can claim.

They were a seperate model line based on another model line (Celica Supra). I don't know of many other car models that spawned another model (aside from the Falcon spawning the Mustang, but there was never a car called the "Falcon Mustang"- besides, that was the '60s and not the '80s).

[RaptorRacing]

-Automatic Climate Control - my friends at work lost their mind when they saw a 20year old car with auto climate control...now they are finally starting to realize why i worship these cars
-8 billion way adjustable seats w/3 level lumbar support
-4 wheel disc...mustangs didn't have these till late 90's IIRC
-power everything standard - brakes, mirrors, doors, mirrors
-full size spare tire

Beyond the obvious that's all I can think of...Ok...I'm going back to bed.

[Tanya]

as already stated, one of the coolest things about these cars is that they're basically already fully loaded. The only way you could get any more "loaded" is having the sunroof, leather seats and floormats ( I think that's all )
also the name Toyota is the standard for reliability, from the 80's to the millenium
The engine is relatively easy to work on and is set up "safely" meaning, the flammable fluids don't run anywhere near the exhaust manifold, hard to make an engine fire that way
The Supra was also always EFI, unlike most of the other early 80's cars.
The rear hatch area, with seats folded down produces a decent amount of cargo space.
In the 80s era when the "gas crisis" was reflective of what's going on now, here is a 2.8 liter engine producing almost as much HP as some American V8s

[AJ]

Engine (head) designed by Yamaha, suspension by Lotus.

[Supra GTR]

Motor Trend's Car of The Year for 1982.

And no other company used a swan that morphed into a dragon boat!

Regards,
James R

[Tanya]

:rotfl:
yeah I don't think any other company had so much controversy over the badging; it's either a swan, viking/norse ship or a dragon
also I believe Celica Supra in Latin roots means "to surpass the heavens" or something to that effect.
Toyota is also spelled "Toyoda" and I think it means "good luck", but I haven't read up on that for a long time, so that may be off.
In Japan, the MkIIs are "Celica XXs" and the 1st gens came out in 1978
other miscelleneous info is slowly leaking back into my head...

[Supra GTR]

In their commercials for the mk1 Celica Supras in 1980 they showed swans gracefully landing on a calm lake.. faded into the hood of a black mk1.

I think the designer wanted a more fierce looking swan so he added what looks like fangs to the badge.

[suprasrock]

In their commercials for the mk1 Celica Supras in 1980 they showed swans gracefully landing on a calm lake.. faded into the hood of a black mk1.

I think the designer wanted a more fierce looking swan so he added what looks like fangs to the badge.
Nice theory, but the Celica dragon badge pre-dates the mk1 by 8 years.

[machine40]

Awesome, there's some stuff i knew, but didnt really th ink about adding, liek how they were "loaded" and it came standard. And i've also heard talk about what exactly that emblem means. So thanks alot, keep it coming!!!
Mike

[CJSREDPRA]

Start reading.......... Esp the early 82 stuff.......

http://www.celicasupra.com/media.htm

[AJ]

And besides doing Supra Ads Dan Gurney was heading towards building an "Eagle Supra" in 82. I have artist renderings signed by Dan Gurney depicting a "Eagle Supra" with custom rocker panels, air dam w/fog lights, wheels, seat and door inserts.

Just have to get pics to Admin!!

[Marblehead]

They actually had some pretty big tires.........for their time.
Rear window washer and headlight washers (and it's not even a Mercedes).....weeeeeee!!

[rsdeo]

Dean would know the answer to this more than anyone.

[Dean]

Just a few more things no one else has mentioned.

Suspension was good for its time period....
Independent Rear Suspension, front and rear sway bars, wide tires.

4 wheel disk brakes was uncommon back then.

Interiors are very nice, mostly padded vinyl parts, not all hard plastic like many cars of its era. Too bad about the striped cloth which tends to date the car. I guess you either love or hate the stripes.

Aerodynamics were very good for its time.

Performance (0-60, quarter mile) is not great by todays standards, but you've got to remember the era when it was introduced. Oil crisis, lots of new emissions requirements, etc. From all the performance numbers I've seen, the only car faster than the Supra in the quarter mile in 82 was the Corvette. Of course, this excludes exotics. The Supra's little 6 cylinder was beating the V8 Mustangs and Camaros/Firebirds in a straight line in 82. Take it into the corners and it was even more one-sided.

[SupraFiend]

oh where to st

Oh theres lots.

The obvious as stated...

what else in 82 could you get with dohc, efi, 4 wheel independent suspension, a clutch plate LSD (better then viscous), 4 wheel disc brakes, speed sensitive steering and the best damn production seats ever (11 way adjustable, massive bolsters)?

I think only in the last few years have we started to see any seats that really compete with them (from a resonably priced sports car anyways). Like the ones in the new WRX STi and the SRT 10 neon.

Also, the rear drum parking brakes were pretty cool for their time. Hell they still are, so few people know about them and when I tell them they're always amazed.

Oh and the best of all, classic styling that actually survived the 80s (unlike many of the mk2's competition from the time). All any mk2 needs to look undated and damn good is a fresh coat of paint, some nice 15+ wheels that fit, and at least an inch drop.