Back in the early 2000s, the famous Fast And The Furious franchise was born. Nobody could have imagined the cultural revolution this would inspire.
Although Japanese sports cars did well in their domestic market, the rest of the world struggled to get past the uninspiring stock performance figures and less than spectacular chassis. Unbeknownst to the western world the potential that lay within, JDM cars are very much a blank canvas and needed something to help the world conceptualize their capabilities. That is exactly what this bright orange Toyota Supra gave the world, it was the finished artwork that changed the face of the automotive industry.
10 Benchmark Tuner
It certainly isn’t to everybody's taste, it is loud, brash and in many ways unconventional. Just the way art should be.
It gave everyone a perspective, more to the point, just one individual’s take on what these cars could look like and just how fast they could go (well, theoretically) in the right hands.
9 Already Modified Before The Movie
Unlike the movie depiction of the car being found and restored/modified to perfection, or the usual “make it look pretty” Hollywood approach, this hero car was already a show car.
It was actually already an award winner, having won a couple car shows before it was used in the movie.
8 Single-Handedly Drove Up The Value
The unfortunate side effect for everyone concerned was its increased value, the movie was made after the Mk 4 Supra had already been removed from the North American market. Ironically, that happened because it didn’t sell all that well, and now everyone suddenly wanted one.
Those who got a hold of one would then modify it to their subjective taste (above), making unmolested examples exceedingly rare. Prices have just steadily risen to this day, now, a good original car will fetch six figures easily.
7 Troy Lee Designs Nuclear Gladiator
Arguably the most distinctive part of the car are the graphics down the sides, they depict what was dubbed a “Nuclear Gladiator” racing along.
This particular artwork was penned by Troy Lee Designs, a brand that has since gone from strength to strength, particularly in the motocross world.
6 All About The Engine
As much as the all round design was solid, it was very 90s and to say the least understated. What wasn’t understated was its incredible 2JZ inline-6 twin turbo engine.
In search of more power, most tuners ditch the two turbos in favor of a larger, more lag prone single turbo. For this particular hero car, the upgrades were only cosmetic, only enough to make it a believable “10 second car.”
5 It Has An Automatic Transmission
Where the orange superstar loses all of its “street-cred” is in the 4 speed slushbox that is sending power to the rear.
The movie depicts Walker changing gears, but that was shot from inside (we suspect) one of the other stunt cars. The actual car, rather unfortunately has an auto, which, if this was a regular Mk 4, would have slashed the value in half.
4 Had More Than One On-Screen Appearance
This is anything but a regular Mk 4 Supra, it is a car with a story. Not one but two appearances in The Fast And The Furious franchise.
After they wrapped up filming of the first movie, it sat in storage for some time before getting transformed into the gold Supra driven by Slap Jack in 2 Fast 2 Furious. It was subsequently auctioned off and restored back to its (not so original) original state from the first movie, thankfully.
3 Bone Stock Under The Hood
This is one of those “all show and no go” Hollywood specials, as much as it was a tuner from the get go, it was all about looks and less about the actual performance.
For a 2JZ, that is actually pretty rare, making this more of a fun daily driver than a performance car (it is an auto remember).
2 More Than Just A Car
Ultimately, this is more than just any old JDM, it is a car that pretty much inspired a generation of car enthusiasts.
It wasn’t as if there was no JDM car scene at the time, it was just lurking in the shadows. These movies put that car culture at the forefront of everyone’s minds, like it or not.
1 Cultural Icon
It is this orange Supra that represents the JDM car culture that has become so popular today, making it much more than just a car, but more of an icon.
Not everyone loves the Supra. It is a car with several faults, but it became the poster child for this new, tech heavy era in car modification culture that has a love it or hate it kind of relationship with automotive enthusiasts.