Project CARS 3: Heisei Supra vs. Reiwa Supra

The Toyota Supra has been by no means one of the most iconic Toyota sports cars ever made since the twilight of the Showa era. From the racetracks to the streets, there's no telling why the Supra is a legend in its own right and why it remains one of the most coveted sports cars in ages.

The Supra of today gave speedo boys quite a mixed reaction since its launch. Yes, it's based on today's BMW Z4, it's built in the same factory as the BMW Z4, and overall, it's basically a BMW Z4 with a different body and Toyota badging on it. Yes, it's all true about the BMW connection but despite the controversial BMW connection that got speedo boys laughing at it, it's a proper sports car that ticks almost all of the boxes of what a real sports car should be; fast on the corners, making drivers hooked for more, and overall, a real fun-to-drive car.

Although impressed by how much fun the GR Supra is, some speedo boys still prefer the performance and street cred the Toyota Supra JZA80 has. As a matter of fact, this iconic Heisei-era Toyota sportscar is one of the all-time greats that speedo boys are hunting for.

Launched in 1993, the A80 Toyota Supra comes with two engine choices; a naturally aspirated and turbocharged version of the 3.0L 2JZ straight-six engine. Apart from that, the A80 Supra features a double-wishbone suspension setup which makes it one of the best-handling sports cars in its class. Although the A80 Supra has a racing pedigree courtesy of the JGTC (now Super GT), it gained a massive reputation for being a street racer thanks to Paul Walker's antics with it on The Fast and the Furious. 

This is exactly why speedo boys from across the globe are hunting for one of these and although some markets officially sold one in the past, an A80 Supra sold in Japan is a must-have for speedo boys too many.

To see how much the Supra matured from the street racer born in the early Heisei era to a Reiwa era Euro-trash too hard to explain, I went to Willow Springs for a little experiment and find out which Supra came up on top.

Right, with their day at Willow Springs done, here are the results;

GR Supra - 1:35.365

Supra MkIV - 1:39.067

A near-five-second gap between the two Supras really explains a lot when you talk about how much the Supra has evolved from the Heisei street hero forged from the fires of Mt. Fuji to a Reiwa knight guarding a nice castle somewhere in Germany.

It's hard to choose which Supra is the best because, while credit's due for the GR Supra, it's the A80 Supra that takes the cake because it is the real Japanese sports car the world knows. Whether you wield a katana or a cavalier, a Supra is a Supra and no judgment can take a toll on Toyota's iconic sportscar. That is the bottom line.