Toyota Supra display 

at SEMA 2018 traced 

the history of 

the Toyota Supra in America

At the 2018 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas, Toyota USA showed off the 2019 NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Racing) Xfinity Series Toyota Supra which will debut at Daytona International Speedway in February, although the street version will be sold by Toyota as a 2020 model after 22 years away from the market.  

The fifth-generation Supra Xfinity race car developed by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and Calty Design Research (a Toyota subsidiary based in Southern California) was shown alongside the four Toyota Supra passenger cars and presented an interesting history of the development of the Supra from 1979 through 1998.

 The original Supra debuted in 1978 and was introduced in the United States in 1979. The first Supra featured a longer wheelbase and was wider than the Celica it was based upon and was equipped with a 4ME inline six-cylinder 2.6-liter (158 cubic inches). Fitted with fuel-injection and a single overhead camshaft the 4ME engine developed 110 horsepower transmitted to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. By the time the first-generation Supra left production in 1982, it was equipped with the 2.8-liter (170 cubic inch) 5ME engine that developed 116 horsepower. 

The second-generation Celica-based Supra debuted in 1982 powered by a 145- horsepower 5M-GE DOHC (double overhead camshaft) 2-valve per cylinder inline 6-cylinder engine that displaces 170 cubic inches. The Supra featured MacPherson strut front suspension and independent rear suspension and the P-level Supra featured Recaro seats.   For the final model years of the Supra from 1984 to 1986, the engine power had increased to 160 horsepower transmitted to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

The third generation Supra introduced in 1986 was stand-alone design powered by the 183-cubic inch 7M-GE six-cylinder engine which developed 200 horsepower, while the turbocharged version, the 7M-GTE produced 276 horsepower. Sold until 1992, this was the first Supra available with electronically controlled suspension dampening.

The fourth-generation Supra was powered by the 183-cubic inch 2JZ straight six-cylinder engine with Sequential Electronic Fuel Injection and an aluminum 4 valves per cylinder head that produced 220 horsepower or 320 horsepower in the twin turbocharged version mated to an optional six-speed manual transmission. The turbocharged version could reach 60 miles per hour (MPH) in 4.6 seconds and run the 1/4-mile in 13.1 seconds with a top speed of close to 180 MPH.  While it was an awesome performer, sales in the United States were never strong, and after 1996 the turbocharged Supra was only sold in the United States with a 4-speed automatic transmission until Toyota ended sales in the United States in 1998.

   
All photos by the author