Car Of The Day: April 23, 2011

Today's car of the day is Summer's 1982 Toyota Celica Supra.

The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra (in its third generation, Mark III) became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica. In turn, Toyota also stopped using the prefix Celica and began just calling the car Supra. Due to the similarity and past of the Celica's name, it is frequently mistaken for the Toyota Supra, and vice versa.

The Supra also traces much of its roots back to the Toyota 2000GT with the main instance being its engine. The first three generations were offered with a direct descendant to the Toyota Crown's and 2000GT's M engine. All four generations of Supra produced have an inline 6-cylinder engine. Interior aspects were also similar, as was the chassis code "A".

Along with this name and car Toyota also included its own logo for the Supra. It is derived from the original Celica logo, being blue instead of orange. This logo was used until January 1986, when the Mark III Supra was introduced. The new logo was similar in size, with orange writing on a red background, but without the dragon design. That logo, in turn, was on Supras until 1991 when Toyota switched to its current oval company logo. (the dragon logo was a Celica logo regardless of what color it was. It appeared on the first two generations of the Supra because they were officially Toyota Celicas. The dragon logo was used for the Celica line until it too was discontinued.)

In 1998, Toyota ceased sales of the Supra in the United States and in 2002 Toyota officially stopped production of the Supra in Japan.

As an iconic sports car, the Supra has appeared in numerous video games, movies, music videos and TV shows. Some of the most notable appearances include the Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, and Midnight Club series of video games and the 2001 film, The Fast and the Furious.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Toyota Supra

A recent acquisition from old442dude (thanks Eric!) this little Supra joined my collection at this past weekend's Keystone CARnival.  Ignore the "turbo" on the hood as this generation Supra was not available with a turbo from the factory (though there were turbo kits available aftermarket).  Turbo was a big deal in the '80s and diecast manufacturers from Summer to Hot Whhels quickly slapped "turbo" tampos on their models.

In 1981, Toyota completely redesigned the Celica Supra as well as the entire Celica lineup. In Japan, they were known as Celica XX, but everywhere else the Celica Supra name was used. Still being based around the Celica platform, there were several key differences, most notably the design of the front end and fully retractable pop-up headlights. Other differences would be the inline-6 still present in the Supra instead of the inline-4 as well as an increase in length and wheel base to conform with the overall larger engine. Toyota's continued market competition with Nissan is shown by the Supra's use of a rear hatch sun shade to avoid the louvres popularly associated with the Z car. Due to an increase in the Supra's width, it was no longer regarded as a "compact" under Japanese dimension regulations.

Super Celica To Wing Car: Toyota Supras In Small Scale

In 1979 Toyota added an inline six cylinder to the Celica and named it the Celica Supra (or Celica XX in Japan).  The Supra went through four generations before being discontinued in 2002.

The first generation was from 1979-1981 and visually the cars were very similar to the Celica.  The car was lengthened about 5 inches to accommodate the larger engine and there were a few other minor differences to tell them apart.  This generation Supra was offered by Matchbox (as an XX) and Yat Ming.  Tomica added a “Supra” sticker to their existing Celica casting, but this did not a Supra make.

Yat Ming MK I (in orange) & Tomica MK II (in white)


The second generation Celica Supra debuted in 1981 as a 1982 model.  The Japanese models were still known as the Celica XX, but the car remained the Celica Supra in the rest of the world.  The second generation Supra was differentiated from the Celica much more than the original car.  In addition to having the front stretched to accommodate the larger engine, the cars share no body panels in front of the doors.  The Supra had fully retracting headlights, a power bulge hood, and different (larger) taillights.  This generation of Supra was very popular in small scale with models from Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tomica, Welly, Yat Ming, Zylmex, Summer, and others.  The Matchbox model featured an opening hatchback, while the Zylmex, Tomica, and Welly all had opening doors.  The Welly is a copy of the Tomica, with added details including a switch from right hand drive to left hand drive.

Tomica Limited MK II XX


While the Celica was completely redesigned for 1986, and switched to front wheel drive, the Supra remained rear wheel drive, continuing on as the Celica Supra through mid year, when the third generation Supra was released.  The MK III dropped the Celica moniker and retained rear wheel drive.  While this was the best selling Supra generation, surprisingly, there are very few replicas in small scale.  Tomica mocked up a prototype but it never entered production.  Bluebox released an ’87 Supra with a cast over rear window, and in the early 2000s Summer released a highly stylized (and unlicensed) MK III also.   The definitive MK III is CM’s rally car, however, a nice casting of a civilian MK III is a glaring omission in 1/64 scale.  This would make a great candidate for a Tomica Limited Vintage Neo.

CM’s MK III rally


In 1993 the final generation of Supra debuted.  The MK IV is usually considered the best of the breed by Supra enthusiasts, and is the first (and often only) Supra that comes to mind when someone hears the words.  Pop-up headlights were gone, twin turbos were added, and a spoiler reminiscent of the Dodge Charger Daytona & Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird was standard (at least on the turbo models).  The MK IV was replicated by Matchbox and Tomica when the car debuted, and a number of other manufacturers after it starred in “The Fast & The Furious”, among them Hot Wheels (the unlicensed “Super Tsunami”), Racing Champions, Jada, and Muscle Machines.  Johnny Lightning was supposed to revive the Racing Champions casting but they eventually canceled the line of “Fast And Furious” cars they were planning to release when the latest movie came out.

Racing Champions MK IV

Muscle Machines MK IV

Muscle Machines MK IV JGTC

Matchbox MK IV