2020 Toyota Supra Drive Review: Return of an Icon

BMW power and Toyota tuning have revived a legendary name, and have created a very different kind of Toyota Supra.

It’s finally here, or, more accurately, they are finally here. Parked in the paddock of Summit Point‘s Shenandoah Circuit are a dozen brand new 2020 Toyota Supras. All eight colors and all three trim levels proudly on display. Toyota has flown me, and a few dozen others out here to experience Supra, ahead of the cars going on sale this summer.

Key facts and figures are important, so let’s get them out of the way, up front. The 2020 Toyota Supra has a three-liter, turbocharged inline-six cylinder engine that produces 335 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque. That engine is paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission, and there is no option of a manual. This two-seater sports car is only available as a coupe, and weighs in at 3,397 pounds. The base price is $49,990, before the $930 destination charge, and costs around $59,000 fully-loaded for the first year exclusive, 1-of-1,500, Launch Edition model.

The powertrain package comes from BMW, as does the platform that the Supra rides on. This co-development is the only way Toyota was able to sign off on a high-cost, low-volume sports car, like Supra, so thank your lucky stars for it. That partnership also means that BMW has a new Z4 convertible that rides on the same platform. Though, Toyota is adamant that, after designing the basic platform and powertrain, the two teams developed the cars completely independently of one another. Overall, it took seven years, from the initial meeting between the two companies until now, to produce the Supra.

How does it drive?

Toyota was kind enough to supply a full day of unrestricted track time with the Supra, as well as plenty of on-road driving, allowing me to put several hundred miles on the car. Let’s start with the race track.

Tetsuya Tada, Chief Engineer of Toyota “Z-Division,” is a passionate car enthusiast, who is responsible for the development of the 86 sports car, and Supra, among others. He knows a thing or two about fun, engaging cars. Tada was on-hand for the event and was adamant that the modern Supra has to work on the race track. To that end, the Supra team spent much development time at the Nurburgring, honing the final product.

All of this development shines through at the 2.2-mile long Shenandoah Circuit, which is features a “replica of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife’s famous Karussell turn complete with 20 degrees of banking.”

Supra has a drive mode selector, with “Normal” and “Sport” modes available, which calibrate the throttle response, transmission programming, bi-modal exhaust system, electric power steering and the adaptive suspension.

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Naturally, when doing any level of performance driving, Sport mode is where the Supra needs to be. This elevates every tactile asset of Supra, making it feel very agile and responsive. The steering feel is best described as “immediate,” no doubt helped by the electric power steering tuning, adaptive dampers and the tires. The steering is quick, and precise. The adaptive suspension allows the Supra to be very flat under braking and in the corners. And the wheel and tire package, Michelin Pilot Super Sport, with 255 section-width rubber up front and 275s out back, means that the Supra has great turn-in, and tenacious cornering grip.

My only demerit with Supra was that, regardless of the drive mode selected, the 8-speed automatic transmission didn’t always seem to understand what I wanted. Coming into a few of Shenandoah’s tight corners, with speeds below 40 MPH, the transmission would refuse to downshift into second gear. This happened multiples times, seemingly at random. Tapping the shift paddles would result in nothing happening until a few seconds later, half way through the corner, when the transmission would then knock down a gear.

Overall, the whole package feels incredibly balanced, a word Tada-san would say repeatedly while walking around the track paddock. Supra understeers when I cause it to understeer, and it oversteers when I cause it to oversteer, a trait very similar to the 86. It feels easy, intuitive and approachable to drive hard.

Throughout an entire day of thrashing, every Supra drove off track without any issues. No overheating, check engine lights, shot brakes, or anything. This is the exception, not the rule, with stock cars, even high-performance models. Tada-san wasn’t kidding about this car’s track day and performance potential.

Continue reading about the Supra on the next page…