Toyota Supra A80 vs GR Supra A90: Does It Live Up to the Name?

The question on everyone’s lips since we learned that a new Toyota Supra, the GR Supra A90, was on its way - developed in partnership with BMW - has been: can it live up to the name?

Toyota Supra A80 and GR Supra A90 side by side

It is time to put that question to the test. We brought together the legendary Supra A80 and the new GR Supra A90, creating a rare chance to see both Portuguese-registered generations side by side and answer that opening question.

In this video, Diogo and Guilherme first explore the story behind the Toyota Supra A80 legend. It is a brief journey back to the 1990s, a decade that gave us some of Japan’s greatest automotive treasures. Just look at the A80’s contemporaries: the Honda NSX, Mitsubishi 3000 GTO, Mazda RX-7, Nissan Skyline GT-R and 300ZX. It truly was a golden generation.

The GT character of the Toyota Supra A80

Even among such company, the Supra stood out, if only for its extrovert styling - have you seen that rear wing, one of its defining features? Yet, contrary to what its appearance might suggest, the Toyota Supra A80, with its 2+2 coupé body, was fundamentally a GT rather than an uncompromising sports car.

That becomes clear as Guilherme and Diogo drive the A80. Generously equipped for its era - with automatic air conditioning, cruise control, ABS, traction control and more - it proves comfortable and well suited to long-distance journeys at high speeds.

Its underpinnings, however, are strong and exceptionally well conceived. As Guilherme puts it, “the chassis does not feel 30 years old”. Double-wishbone suspension at both the front and rear is one of the elements behind the fluid driving experience offered by the Toyota Supra.

2JZ-GTE: the source of the Supra legend

So where does its legendary status come from? It is less about what the Supra originally was and more about what it had the potential to become - potential extensively explored by an entire community of enthusiasts and tuners. That is why the Supra A80 we tested is a unicorn: it remains almost entirely original…

The main reason for that latent potential lies behind the seemingly random 2JZ-GTE designation. This is the inline six-cylinder engine found beneath the Supra’s bonnet, producing 330 hp in European specification. It was not so much the power it delivered that made it mythical, but the power that could be extracted from it - 400, 500, 700 hp or more? “Child’s play” - although, of course, it is not quite that easy, but the engine could withstand all that and more…

The Toyota Supra A80 therefore had the right ingredients to forge a more intimate bond with its followers. It stopped being merely another car and became my one-and-only Supra, unlike every other example. That is how the legend was born… Its status was further explored on the big screen by the first film in the Fast and Furious series, “The Fast and the Furious”, which propelled the Supra’s fame to the heights it enjoys today.

Does the GR Supra A90 honour the legacy?

Any successor to that legacy needed to be worthy of it… Has it succeeded? Join Diogo and Guilherme as they discover the Supra A80 and assess how the GR Supra A90 compares. This is a video you will not want to miss.