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Even before anyone has had time to sit in the Toyota GR Supra 2020 ready for production, there are good opinions about the car. "Nice Z4", destroy the detractors. "2JZ or bust," say the nostalgic. "Where is the manual transmission?", Purify the purists.
The MkV Supra has recently been added to Gran Turismo Sport, and we thought it would be a fun exercise to see if the critics had any merit whatsoever in running Toyota's all-new sports car.
We will not be able to tell you how the HVAC switches feel in the hand, nor what is their inner smell. This may be possible with the PlayStation 5 edition of the game. But we can "Drive" the new Supra around several tracks (including an empty and completely dry Nordschleife) back to back with a "mechanically" perfect MkIV in the same session.
Try to organize this in real life.
The Toyota GR Supra RZ 2020, in virtual numbers
- Price: 100,000 credits at stake
- Powertrain: Two cylinders in straight line of 3.0 liters developing 335 horses and 369 lb-ft of torque; eight-speed automatic transmission; RWD
- EPA Fuel Economy: We do not care
- 0-60: 4.1 seconds (constructor claimed) 5.0 seconds (observed)
- Quarter mile: 13.4 seconds at 109 mph (observed)
- Quick catch: In the world of Gran Turismo, the Toyota GR Supra 2020 looks like a solid sports car that wants to please, even if it is not as magical as its predecessor powered 2JZ.
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
At the stop, the Supra seems a little embarrassing. When standing still, its roof is too high compared to the rest of the body and has a prominent bulbous nose. Looking at one of my own ghost cars overtaking me on a particularly slow lap, the two – door Toyota looks low, punchy and determined. I particularly remember thinking, "Uh, what a beautiful thing to watch."
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
I'm really not a fan of the quality of the steering wheel airbag. It reminds me of the ruffles found on bumper cars and not in a good way. "2/10 would not buy."
Of course, everything has been painstakingly reconstructed by Polyphony Digital's magicians, who have perfectly modeled everything from the way the light dances (or does not dance) to the matte gray paint of my particular car up to the 39, head-up display above the dashboard.
Speaking of speed, Toyota quotes a 4.1 second sprint at 60 mph, but when we loaded the car on GT SportTrack X of the special stage, perfectly hetero, for a series of "instrumented tests", we systematically recorded a time of zero to 60 seconds of five seconds. The quarter mile is treated in 13.4 seconds at 109 mph. Because the game does not have a drag race, the "instrumented tests" in this scenario are like throwing the car several times and reviewing the replay data with a stopwatch. (For the serious nerd, this has been done on Sports Hard tires with traction control set to 2.)
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
The virtual 2020 Toyota GR Supra has reached the digitized Nürburgring, where rain and tourist traffic are non-existent. The Supra is, in a word, impatient. Fast driving, fast steering, powerful brakes and a deliberate powertrain make the Yota two-door agile, forgiving and malleable.
According to Toyota, the center of gravity of the Supra is lower than that of the Boxer 86 and is stiffer than the carbon loaded Lexus LFA. After piloting his video game representation, I am inclined to believe it. However quickly thought you can throw the Supra in a corner, she can probably do it faster. The car handles ripples and unevenness like a champion.
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
The 335-hp, 3.0-liter straight-six BMW under the hood puts the Supra a few leagues ahead of its compatriots NSX and GT-R, but just like handling, it's a unit that want to please. It is a strong and powerful engine, devoid of the nonsense that has affected Toyota's latest sports coupe. His two turbos make themselves known with an audible whistle above 4,000 rpm.
It also has an extroverted exhaust, with creaks at full speed above 2,500 rpm. Seriously, remove R2 and it looks like someone zaps a bag of popcorn into the glove compartment.
As if the car had not audibly indicated to its driver how fast its engine was running, Toyota has incorporated a clever passage indicator inside the tachometer that allows your peripheral vision to know when to move on to the next gear.
So, we now know that the Toyota Supra 2020 can make a difference. But what if everything you want out of the track is to leave skid marks and destroy tires? To see how it goes, we loaded Tsukuba. In addition to being the place of innumerable Best Motoring In the showdowns, the 1.27-mile circuit regularly hosts Formula D. It's D like drifting.
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
Is the new Supra Powerslide? With the right motivation, absolutely. By pressing the traction control, folding it in a bend and crushing the throttle, you'll get a theatrical performance worthy of a Ken Block chair. Supporting massive chains of tire smoke, especially during Tsukuba's long bend 12, is extremely easy. Strangely easy. It's almost as if this car had been developed by the same man responsible for the drifting race 86 – what it was.
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
The Toyota GR Supra 2020 therefore appears, at least numerically, like a sports car. But how does it compare to the original? To find out, I climbed the wheel of a 1997 Supra MkIV Supra, the car that has undoubtedly catapulted the Supra into its classic cult status.
Judging by her opinions on the Internet, the new Supra, born in Austria, seems to be a world apart from her father, but by driving the two teams one after the other around the Nordschleife, they are actually feel more alike than expected. At the end of the day, they have the same layout, the same displacement, the same number of cylinders arranged in the same way, and are very close to the same order of magnitude in terms of power and weight.
It is not surprising, however, that the former Supra's driving habits are less precise, more relaxed and GT-like. The rating of its 2JZ engine could be classified in the same genre as the B58 if it was listed on Spotify, but the factory manufactured by Toyota seems heavier, more industrial and more sonorous. Hairy in the chest. It is a glorious engine to use and which improves more and more at every turn.
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
This addictive personality extends to the rest of the MkIV's driving experience. Canber the old Supra around an empty Nürburgring is extremely engaging, and the new car can not really match. Negotiating the relatively primitive chassis of the old car around the most technical sections of Green Hell requires increased concentration, but a more rewarding magnitude accordingly.
Chris Tsui / Gran Turismo Sport
In isolation, the Toyota GR Supra 2020 stands as a solid performance. Its design, its layout and its optimal technical specifications all pay tribute to the legend of the 90s to which it owes its existence. Is this a special driving machine like this old car? We are not so sure.
One thing is certain though: we can not wait to taste the new Supra in real life, but its binary counterpart suits us perfectly for the moment. Excuse me while I enjoy a little more time with Toyota's latest sports car. For research.
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