Toyota GR Supra Final Edition comes with more power and a bigger price tag.
The Supra is one of the last of the great Japanese sports car names from the 1980s and 1990s, and while its reintroduction was a letdown for purists, the latest iteration has somewhat grown in popularity. News, though, about the Final Edition around the end of last year raised concerns for a number of enthusiasts who were concerned about the future of the Supra.
While there are no immediate plans from Toyota to remove the Supra from the GR lineup, the Japanese carmaker is looking to send this generation off in style with an ambitious price tag. Well, at least the Final Edition is described as the ultimate expression of the current generation, and the product of such a statement is a true, driver-focused Supra.
To bolster the inherent expectations that come with the "Final Edition" nametag, its 3.0-litre inline-6 engine has been uptuned from 250kW to 320kW while the torque has seen a supplementary 70Nm bump to 570Nm, all delivered via a manual transmission. This is a significant increase, bringing its top speed from 250km/h to 270km/h. As much as it would be easy to assume this came as a product of greater boost, this is not quite the case.
To achieve these performance additions, Gazoo Racing pulled out the blueprints and improved its intake air paths so the car can breathe better. Tweaks were also made to the low-back-pressure catalyst to reduce the pressure loss, and, to make a long story short, a happy engine makes more power.
Of course, a diverse group of racing boffins were handed the task, so straight-line performance isn’t the only improvement. New KW damping-force-adjustable suspension has been added, which is similar to the kind found in the Supra GT4 race car. Camber also plays a large role in cornering grip, and negative camber has been added to allow for more rubber to be in contact with the road during cornering through the wheel's vertical tilt. More negative camber improves the tyre's footprint and effective load capacity in the turns, and unfortunately, in a streetcar, this also greatly increases tyre wear. Nevertheless, this driver-focused car is designed for dynamic driving, and if you can fit the bill, you can afford the more frequent tyre changes. An added upside to the handling scenario is its 10mm wider tyres to improve overall stability and handling.
Now that it's quicker under acceleration and around corners, there's just one more thing to discuss: the slowing down element. Well, like any good performance car, Brembo was assigned the task, and it came up with 19-inch front brakes. This system is further supported by high friction-coefficient brake pads and, of course, braided brake lines, or stainless steel mesh brake hoses in mechanical speak, to help avoid every driver's worst enemy, brake fade. Lastly, with extra power and brake force comes heat, so there are numerous cooling additions made to keep the likes of the radiator and diff nice and cool.
But this impressive performance boost is only half of the story; typically, an upgraded car of this nature would add around 20% to the price, but not this time. The Final Edition is limited to only 300 units, so the higher price is not surprising. Unfortunately, though, we likely won't get this edition on our roads.
The standard 3.0-litre Supra starts at around the R1,450,000 mark, which is fairly similar to our local price, but for the few performance increases, the Final Edition will set buyers back, drum roll please, R2,821,000. That's nearly double the price. Yes, it has supercar-inspired bucket seats and a noticeable performance boost, but it costs nearly R400k more than an entry-level Porsche 911 Carrera. That seems excessive to me.
I must give props where it's due. The Final Edition is a stunning improvement to the GR Supra, and the performance does make it much more appealing, with the driving experience likely to impress most. But for me, it doesn’t justify such a monumental price bump.
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