Toyota Supra Mk2 - Brilliant.. Yet It FAILED To Take On Porsche?

Big thanks to Kai for bringing it down. Check out his Instagram account if you want to see more of the Supra and Porsche 944 and give him a follow: @attcars

I had 205,000 very pleasant miles in my '84 Supra. Replacing the shocks/struts with Bilsteins improved the handling without destroying the ride comfort. Repairs were minimal: an alternator, fuel pump and wiper motor. Even at the end, I would happily set out on a 300 mile trip without a second thought. I replaced it with an E36 M3 which certainly had better handling and was quicker, but by the time it got to 50,000, I couldn't trust it on a long trip.

In the United States, these were very popular when new and are still popular to this day. They usually sell for impressive prices.

I bought one in 1991 that had 160K miles on it. Still drove like brand new. Everything worked, just needed a clutch. Best $4,000 I ever spent.

Owned an '82 and '84. Super reliable, great heater, seats, quiet, looked good. Put a bazillion miles on them. Good memories. It was really a GT car.

As a man now in his late 50's, with my formative car years being the '80's, this is still a dream car...best looking coupe of it's time IMHO, and with a those signature, '80's cool, digital dash and pop-up headlights sealing the deal. Definitely a GT car though. Cheers!

I've got a 1983 Supra that's been in the family from new. It still has the supplying dealer window stickers from Crosby Park Garage in Liverpool. Here's a little factoid - it has a non-interference engine. If the timing belt snaps you fit a new one without the need to rebuild the engine. Rust was the big killer. The survivors were rustproofed from new - the Toyota dealer in Liverpool offered Tectyl rustproofing as an option. It's the reason mine is still going. And this year it's tax-free.

Personal favorite: this car just looks like the coolest one of the entire 1980s with its straight lines, fastback, spoilers and widened wheel arches. When it was new I think it was compared more with the Datsun 280 ZX (obviously), the Ford capri 2.8 injection, the Alfa Romeo GTV6 and the Mitsubishi starion (anyone remembers that one?). Since it's more a GT-like car, I think that comparison does the car more justice.

Loved this model. A rich neighbour got a black one for him and his wife had a red one they looked like space ships compared to what everyone else down the street was driving.

I absolutely love these cars. I lusted after them as a child, and part of me still does.

I had one in college, good memories. It's more of a GT then a sports car like the RX7 or Z at the time. It was a very popular car during the period in US, I still love the look of it.

Supra Mk II handling was easily improved with stiffer gas shocks, P/U bushings, +2 wheels. For it's day it was quite a solid GT offering and while it was less sorted than early Z car with fewer aftermarket parts, there was a lot that could be done to them. These were factory raced IIRC? Remember, too, that here in the US, the competition was as much with GM and Ford, Camaros and Thunderbirds. Toyotas were a huge step up in mechanical reliability (especially beyond 75K miles, holding used value better). Great ergonomics and a non-strident ride slotted it in the comfy GT segment. While you could cruise all day in luxury at 85mph, the speed limit was 55mph nationally. 170 HP was a lot in the early 80's, the recent gas crisis not yet that far behind in the rear-view mirror

An uncle here in Australia had one of these... A red one he ordered new, was a cool car even in the 90s. He gave it to his daughter when she graduated high school, it got stolen from her uni car park and sadly disappeared. He had a bunch of Japanese collector cars, including an early NSX that he bought new and still has. It was his daily until he became too old to use it. Man loves his Japanese rides.

I was in college when this came out here in the US and had a good friend with one, and drove it often. You are absolutely right--priorities in the US for driving are different. After all, Texas where I live is roughly the size of France! I've done countless 1000-mile days driving for pleasure. I always want a car that sacrifices the 10th degree of absolute handling and performance for one that's great for the other 98%, and this car fits that. It was a great one to do those thousand-mile days, particularly in the American West with the air conditioning pumping out cold air in the heat and rock music on cassettes! Always fun to see the Euro perspective, anyway.

When I was a kid in the late 1980`s in Johannesburg a new girl arrived at school in a car nobody had ever seen before, her dad, a plant manager brought over from Sheffield to work for an SA steel company had brought it over from the UK with him, that was a MKII Supra, everyone at the school lusted after that car...the daughter was pretty cute too...(my first crush...)

I forwarded this video to my beloved aunt. She bought a new one in late ‘82. My uncle ended up buying her a new car in 1991, yes, a Lexus 400, and he drove that Celica Supra, for work until 2003 when the frame rust was beyond repair. Engine and gearbox and most of the rest of the car were still functioning. Including the AC. Very important in Miami! 😂

I'm surprised you didn't know that Lotus did the handling tuning on the Mk2 Supra GTS. I had a 1983 in Canada and loved it. Many of the Supra GTS parts made it into the Lotus Excel. Toyota was part owner or majority owner of Lotus at that time. The Excel had the wheels, brakes, diff, and transmission from the Supra GTS and climate control from another Toyota.

My absolute favorite generation of the Celica and the Supra. The big wheel flares were just so cool. The whole thing was cool! This example just needs the rear sunshade/spoiler to make it complete.

I have 2 MK2 Celica Supras 82 and 83. I’ve owned and driven many cars over the years and must say the 83 is one of my favorite cars to drive. Granted I put headers and stainless steel exhaust on it and it sounds brilliant. Will never sell! The 82 is next to be restored. These cars are so underrated!

I can't overstate how significant this car was when it was introduced (in the US, anyway). I was obsessed.