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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

What other car is like the supra?


herbiemercman

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Hi Supra Dudes, I think i know why, but why are so many young and many middle aged owners of this breed so hooked on the mk4 supra?

I have to tell you a story, hope you like it.

My brother has a big building business in lancashire and one of his main suppliers was a builders merchants called "Fairwood", at the time my brother had a brand new mk 3 supra in red, great car and quite quick.

One day he went to the site and saw one of the first uk mk4 supras, in red bodywork, it was the TT.

Because the owner of the builders merchant highly valued the business from our building company he took my brother for a quick spin in his new mk4, my brother got emphatuated, back in 1993, the looks and performance of this car was revolutionary.

 

Meanwhile i had visited a compay in Bolton "Warander" and they had a 12 months old import, black TT, with all the suspension black enamelled and it was claimed to be putting out 500 bhp, just 1,200 miles on the clock, at the time i beleived the 500bhp was correct. In 1993, the actual 320 bhp was awsome.

 

My brother threw a birthday party at his mansion and he had the supra parked in the middle of his patio, it looked fantastic, no one had seen a car with headlights like this and a rear spoiler with circular rear lights etc. as new, was new, and all black leather, massive wheels and tyres, i will never forget it, he still has the car with only 38,000 miles on it.

 

I often wonder why some guy or girl in jap land would part with a car like this when they were only just coming onto the market etc.

Now this is the good bit for me, i put a £500 deposit on this car, before my brother knew about it, and then i was attacked by my wife as i had told her we would get a Discovery Landrover for all her dogs.

 

I chickened out, and rang my brother, and he took his, as new mk3 supra to "Warrander", and drove away in the black super car.

 

In the first year he owned it we were in the Isle Of Man at the TT Races and most days he was blowing off big super bikes.

 

12 months later i sold my porsche 911 Carerra and bought a new NA, 5 speed in black, my brother always called my car "the slow one", SO 18 years later i am now waiting for my car to be returned from the tuner, with 100 bhp more than my brother has. Also his was a autobox, mine is 5 speed manual with limited slip diff, we love these cars and i do not know any other cars, that were so ahead of their time, in, looks and performance, and fantastic body design, and are sought after all over the world, can be tuned to incredible BHP, and so stable at high speed.

Hope you all like the strory about one of the first cars which landed in the uk, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK? herbiemercman.

Edited by SPG
ADDED EXTRA TEXT. (see edit history)
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hy. I think is just about how this car makes the driver feel, i never forget the first time i drove the supra, so stable. looks ? it never gets old gets better ! first build in 1993...

there is no other car like the Supra. but there are some great cars you can buy.

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Not sure if there is any other car like it, its such a timeless design that just has not aged and doubt it will as its aero dynamic unlike some of the box shaped cars made that say the are aero dynamic.so cheap for the actual performance you get which you just dont get with other cars

 

Maybe some jags , porsches, Astons compare in looks but bang for buck are no where near. All IMO of corse

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I remember my first drive of a Supra about 9 years ago, my mate had an NA Auto which I thought was the ultimate car (ignorance). One day he called me and asked if I was free to collect his car from a local garage as he wasn't going to finish work until late in the evening and his car was ready to be collected. They would be closing soon so he would miss the weekend with the car if not collected. I obviously jumped at the chance - however, when I was driving it back it didn't really live up to my expectations...like it felt faster when I was in the passenger seat. Thats why I have a TT :D

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I think your 5 speed isnt going to like that power.

 

There was/is a club owner down my way who took delivery of a brand new supra when i was at school. I would see it most days and it blew my mind. Back then 46k was lottery winning money.

 

20 years later my Aero was £1400 but turns heads everywhere i go

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This has been done to death but there isn't really anything close to a Supra in its price range. Performance and build quality are amazing for the money. You are getting into £30 - 40K to find anything comparable with the looks and performance.

 

Besides the 911, Cayman GTS or GT4 if you can find one, JAG F Type R, I am struggling to think of anything else I would want to have on my drive. I went Z4M but that is a different car completely. If you want 4 seats, 2 doors, RWD and be able to modify cheaply, then there really isn't much. Others have eye watering running costs too, (Astons, Mercs, M cars).

 

H.

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Welcome to the club

 

Quite a story, but reflects the ability of the Supra to catch peoples hearts

 

So is you r N/A going to be 600 bhp then, if so you said it is a 5 speed, the 5 speed box will not survive long with that power

 

 

420 ish I think, ie 100bhp over his brothers stock I believe TT.

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It's all about the power delivery on WOT. I don't know why but the Supra feels so different to every other car on WOT - it's very engaging and there's a lot to pay attention to, yet it isn't necessarily 'hard' to drive and the rear end feels very predictable/safe. For these reasons, coupled with the fact 15k fetches a mint TT6, and another 15k can get it up to 700hp, I don't think there are many other cars out there that can realistically give the Supra a run for its money!

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Hi Scooter, You are correct the target BHP is circa 420, let's face it some years back no one would believe you would be able to double your BHP, and i have done my homework, the 5 speed box is no problem in the right hands, it will just be great to have a real power supply put in place and remove the "slow na badge" reputation, and still enjoy the looks, stability and driving quality.

This also shuts my brother up who always says "oh i have a real supra", also the guy at my local garage after driving my car said "my golf gti is quicker than that", when you get in conversation in the pub about cars and you say you have a supra, most of the time the reply is "is it the TT model", my reply for 19 years has been, no it's the pure grunt model, like the nisan 350z, twin overhead cam and 24 valve, but nothing worked, it was like you owned a porsche 911, BUT it was LHD, so apart from the new driving experience i get rid of the stigma, this is just my opinion and like many other NA owners i have enjoyed the car for many years, and but for some good engineers on this site i would just have to live with the situation, i came close to buying a TT on occasions, but as my car is like new, due to care and "Waxoil" from new, i was reluctant to part with it. herbiemercman.

Edited by herbiemercman (see edit history)
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There's no doubt that you are taking a risk by running that sort of torque through the box. Some get away with it, others go through multiple gearboxes. And I take it when you say 'the right hands', you mean driving it very steadily.

 

I'd cap the power at circa 350hp, and be happy with that. I have owned cars before that make you worry about things breaking, and it takes the joy out it.

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Just to add the the positive vibes.

 

I currently work in harrogate.

on a daily basis I see numerous porsches couple of astons a Ferrari and every 2 days a new lambo. and more top end 4x4s than the average golfs.

all very impressive.

 

but

 

I see a supra go past and i double take. every time. I mean what the hell? but it has that look and appeal.

 

street killer style with power to boot.

 

winning.

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