Toyota’s Gazoo Racing Supra is making its way into showrooms around the world, showing it’s much better to under-promise and over-deliver. Like the Six-Million Dollar
Man, the Supra is proving stronger, fitter and faster than its manufacturer claims.
Let’s deal with the actual Toyota NZ facts and figures first: from its 3L straight-six-cylinder engine, Toyota says it produces a numerically neat 250kW/500Nm, and 0-100km/h in 4.3 seconds.
However, independent testers are finding the power claims are understated, and though testing equipment varies, results have shown between 300-335kW, about 20 per cent more than the official figures.
Driven has put Toyota’s claims to the test and the results are equally surprisingly impressive. We tested the new Supra on NZ soil over the full range of 0-100km/h and 0-400m performance times, the globally recognised measures, using Racelogic GPS timing gear.
Read more: We test the all-new Toyota GR Supra. Is it worthy?
A feature of the Supra is its launch control mode where pressing the Sport button then ESP-off reveal a chequered flag icon in the dash, and a soft 2200 rev-limit, ready for launch.
The trick with getting the Supra off the line quickly is there is no trick. Floor both pedals in launch control, then release the brake, and it’s away swiftly, while the turbo takes a moment to inhale before the rush really happens.
The rear of the Supra sinks and it starts hauling, with a surge at each shift, passing 100km/h in 4.1 seconds. That makes it 0.2 seconds faster than Toyota’s claim, and equals the American 0-60mph (96km/h) claim of Toyota USA. It’ll also run a quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds at 177km/h putting it in the territory of supercars twice its price.
But it doesn’t actually “need” launch control activated to produce fast times.
The eight-speed automatic ZF gearbox works so well, the Supra is equally quick without it, and by simply stepping off the brake pedal and mashing the throttle, it will still eclipse those factory claims.
Even with traction control fully active, it records 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds, shifting as quickly as a dual-clutch gearbox and as smoothly as, well, an automatic.
The needle on the digital dash instantly flicks down its range with each shift, and the thrust is relentless until the throttle is eased, continuing to the full quarter-mile with a 12.5 second time at the same 177km/h.
We can also one-up the Aussies on this, as the major Australian motoring media are only able to record 0-100km/h times in 4.6 seconds, with the Aussie Supras proving a little slower off the mark and almost half-a-second slower to 60km/h.
What does all this mean to the average GR Supra driver in the real world?
Not a great deal, but with cars like this, bragging rights and pub numbers do count, and though a quick, discreet getaway might be an advantage in some situations, it’s just as capable as a smooth, daily commuter.
The Toyota GR Supra offers arguably the biggest bang-for-your buck under $100k, but, crucially in this day of being green, combines it with fuel consumption of just 7.7L/100km. Toyota GR Supra: fast, furious and frugal, too.
