The Toyota Supra has traditionally been seen as an open canvas upon which owners and tuners alike could modify for various purposes such as drag racing, drifting and track day racing. With the current A90 generation the brand has kept this in mind as chief engineer of the car, Tetsuya Tada, reveals.
Talking to Japanese Nostalgic Car, Tada-san claims the development of the new Supra has incorporated specific measures to accommodate tuners and private owners who wish to push their cars to new limits. “The A90 Supra was developed with tuning in mind,” Tada-san reveals. “I went to individual people in charge of various aftermarket companies and made sure it was a welcoming car to tune. I made certain all the necessary reinforcements to turn it into a race car were already installed. I invited all the major tuning houses in Japan to come look at it; Cusco, Trust, Fujitsubo, and so on and everyone was surprised.”
Tada-san points out additional open spaces in the Supra’s architecture to accommodate aftermarket parts and a set of mounting points on the radiator core and bulkhead for stiffening braces as some of the highlights among these tuner-friendly touches. Structural reinforcements and mounting points on the boot are present for those looking to mount an aftermarket wing, and there’s also extra space around the chassis for an aftermarket radiator; something that was considered in light of cooling issues often encountered with tuned versions of the previous model.
Tada-san boasts that there aren’t many production cars that cater to tuner-fanatic owners off the shelf; a sentiment reinforced by the overwhelmingly positive reception tuners gave the new Supra at the SEMA measuring session. This activity takes place at the Las Vegas-based event, allowing tuners to assess the kind of aftermarket products they can develop for a car. The measuring session for the new Supra turned out to be the biggest in SEMA history.
It’s also understood that parts developed for the Supra can also be made available for the BMW Z4, as it shares the same platform.
“If we didn’t make this car, the aftermarket industry would wither in the coming years. I had to make it now, so those companies can survive, hopefully long enough to see the next sports car boom,” Tada-san says.
