Toyota Supra

The Supra began in 1978 as a longer, six-cylinder derivative of the Toyota Celica, and across four generations it matured into the company's flagship grand tourer. Each generation leaned on the inline-six as its signature, progressing from naturally aspirated units to the turbocharged engines that would come to define the model's reputation. Toyota retired the nameplate in 2002, then revived it for a fifth generation in 2019 as the GR Supra.

The fourth-generation A80 is the car most people picture when they hear the name. Its twin-turbocharged 2JZ-GTE inline-six was rated at 321 horsepower for export markets, fed by a pair of sequential turbochargers that traded low-end lag for a strong top end. A cast-iron block and stout internals gave the engine unusual mechanical headroom, and it is this generation that anchored the Supra's enduring cult status.

That status rests largely on the 2JZ-GTE's tuning potential. Because the engine was so over-built, specialists found it could absorb large jumps in boost and power on the standard bottom end; tuned A80 Supras making four-figure horsepower and running nine-second quarter-miles became almost routine, a reputation amplified by the car's presence in film and games. When Toyota returned the Supra to production in 2019, co-developed with BMW, it was this lineage the revived car was measured against.