The fast and furious battle to bag a Toyota Supra

“My daily drive is a 1,000bhp Toyota” is a common F1-level-power statement among owners of ’90s road car the Toyota Supra Mark 4 (aka the A80). And they’re talking about the drive to work or supermarket-trip car, not computer-game reality. 

It’s all down to the engine – the 2JZ-GTE. Although manufactured to operate at around 300-400bhp, the 2JZ could be tuned by Japanese specialists to give it supercar powers. That made the A80 “an icon”, says Matt Bird of enthusiast website PistonHeads. As a result, the ordinary car with a supercar engine “earned its place in automotive legend for its performance and tuneability”. 

The frenzy surrounding the A80 Supra gathered pace in 2001, when it was featured trouncing a succession of Ferraris and American muscle cars in the film The Fast and the Furious. Having been relatively unfashionable, it became known as “a 10-second car” – the time in which it could cover a quarter of a mile from standstill. (The actual The Fast and the Furious car changed hands for $185,000 in 2015, then hammered in for $550,000 at Barrett-Jackson auction house in Las Vegas in 2021, a near 200 per cent jump.) 

Those who own Supra A80s tend to fall into two camps: Supra extremists, who know few modification limits, and standard Supra owners, who value a stock car that’s a reliable, safe investment haven.  

I feel guilty even thinking about modifying it...

“Their engines are bombproof,” says John Branigan, chief technology officer at a leading dermatology clinic, who is also founder and chairman of the Mark 4 Supra Owners Club. “But these cars are now 30 years old, so some have rust on the sills and around the fuel tank. A good entry-level twin-turbo will cost around £30,000, a non-turbo around £20,000.” (“Non-turbos are imports, and run about 220bhp, which means the performance just isn’t there in a 1.7-tonne car,” he says.) Branigan owns two Supra twin-turbos (one modified mildly, one wildly) and estimates there are still about 300 UK-spec Supras around of the 600 originally produced, but “thousands” of imports. Of those 300 cars, roughly half have modified engines.

Many buyers first came across Supras while gaming as kids. Brighton-based Lee Elkin-Afonso, 33, became hooked as a pre-teen playing Gran Turismo, which featured at least one Toyota Supra in every game bar two. His first was a standard automatic import, bought in 2011 for £6,000. Reliable and easy to maintain, it became his day-to-day wheels. His second A80 is a modified 1,000bhp-plus Supra – £7,000 in 2014. “It’s a daily drive” too, he says, “although I usually have it dialled down to 600bhp. I drive sensibly.” Today, he estimates its value at around £50,000.

But Shaheen Hussain of Jap Import Cars, High Wycombe, believes that solid values lie in standard and original A80s. “Our customers look for unmolested examples rather than big power. If we come across modified cars, we convert them back to standard – they’re worth far more. There’s only ever a couple of standard cars on the market.”

The A80 is an engineering masterpiece, he says. “In 2016, values just skyrocketed: at 25 years old, they became eligible for import to the US and Australia, although we resist exporting them; even in tough times, they’re holding their value. Good original manual drives go for around £50,000, but don’t be surprised to see that double.” He currently has a silver imported manual at £49,995.

Pharmacist Sujeevan Sivathasan, 30, paid £27,000 for his standard red 1993 A80 in 2021. A year earlier a friend had bought one for £12,000. “It’s automatic, comfortable, has everything you need, suits today’s driving environment – but is garaged in winter,” he says. He has no intention of souping it up: “I felt guilty just thinking about modifying it.” His is a UK-original, except for some paint and seat refurbishment – and an artillery cannon-diameter exhaust.

Dealer Philip Raby recently sold a 1994 UK-spec automatic in white for £32,995. Actually a Porsche specialist, Raby says the A80 was years ahead of its direct Porsche competitor, the 968. “It has a lovely six-cylinder engine, great interior, and can happily be used as a daily drive. [Many buyers] view it as just that, as well as being a bit of fun – and probably a great investment.”