Shooting cars in a photo studio feels so Hollywood.
I shot photos of a few key A90 Supras in a Los Angeles area photo studio prior to Toyota’s official unveiling at the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Due to the secret nature of the situation, things were hush hush, and I couldn’t even post Instagram stories about the situation until after a certain date. Well, now that date has passed, and I can finally share these images!
It’s no secret that the A90 Toyota Supra has been the butt of many jokes and criticism from car people on the internet. There are lots of people criticizing Toyota’s A90 for being a collaborative effort with BMW, with a BMW engine from the Z4. Of course, everyone already knows that the internet critics call it a Zupra.
The funny thing is, when you click onto the Facebook profile pages of many of those internet critics who say they would never buy the A90 Supra, it becomes clearly evident that many of them can’t even qualify to buy a new Supra.
This being said, Toyota is not having a hard time selling the A90 Supra. The dealers can’t even keep these things in stock. At SEMA, the A90 Supra was the it-car this year, with modified Supras in every single hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The A90 was everywhere you look! This just goes to show that sometimes even negative publicity is good publicity, because everyone has been talking about the A90.
Marty Schwerter and his team at Toyota’s Motorsports Technical Center (MTC) couldn’t wait to get their hands on the 2020 GR Supra. With direction from Ed Laukes of Toyota Division Marketing, MTC set out to “stay inside the fenders” of the 2020 GR Supra maintaining the lines of the vehicle while incorporating some classic details from the legendary MKIV JZA80 Supra.
I absolutely love the look of this project vehicle. First of all, take a look at those taillights! These lights were custom made via CNC using blocks of acrylic, fitting the iconic look of JZA80 tails inside the newer A90 taillight housing. I love it. It would be amazing if these lights became released for public purchase as an aftermarket accessory. Did you notice the same JZA80 treatment on the headlights too? Absolutely amazing looking.
Also, check out the 3-inch center exit exhaust and rear diffuser.
Many people reading stories about the A90 Supra will certainly remember the confusion about the “non functional side vents” on the side of the car, but the GR Supra Heritage Edition addresses those concerns by cutting small, unobtrusive slits in the door and bodywork to allow air to pass through as the A90 designers originally intended.
As you can see here, the air relief slit continues through the bodywork panel attached to the rockers and quarter panel of the car.
From the side, the GR Supra Heritage Edition maintains the original body lines – you won’t see holes being drilled into the brand new body of this A90 just for the addition of a widebody aero kit.
Speaking of aero, check out this amazing aero enhancement. An actual JZA80 Supra rear wing was hacked up in order to make it fit onto this A90 Supra – and it looks really, really good. When I opened up the trunk, I noticed that there was felt underneath the wing edges so the fiberglass wouldn’t scratch the body paint if someone slammed the trunk. Nice touch.
Inside the trunk, I was shocked to see this set of Tein coilovers. They are installed and arranged in a Formula One style cantilever suspension setup on the trunk floor that sits in between the factory rear shock towers. This is certainly an engineering nod to the F1 style nose cone on the car, and is absolutely amazing. This setup here made this my favorite Supra on display at SEMA from a motorsports engineering and Toyota heritage standpoint.
Underneath the wheel wells are a set of 19×11-inch HRE P107SC five-spoke wheels equipped with 305/30R19 Toyo Proxes R888R competition tires within the rear fenders. A matching set of HRE P107SC wheels in a 19×10.5-inch size with 295/30R19 Toyo Proxes tires fill the front wheel wells.
Check out those awesome Brembo 6-piston monobloc calipers with 380mm two-piece rotors up front. They are matched with Brembo four-piston monobloc calipers with 380mm rotors in the back.
Now let’s take a peek under the hood. Precision Turbo & Engine modified a stock turbocharger to produce 18-percent more airflow for the B58 engine. A custom carbon fiber intake and 3-inch center exit exhaust permit the engine to breathe more freely while Mission Performance calibrated the engine management system. Now tuned, the engine produces over 500 horsepower.
Here’s a little more detail under the hood. I absolutely loved seeing this A90 Supra up close. This 500hp GR Supra Heritage Edition is sure to be a head turned and crowd pleaser as it makes its rounds around North America for all of the upcoming auto shows. If you attend any shows this coming year, you really need to check it out up close.
As for me, I need to actually drive one so I can see what all the hype is about!
:: Antonio Alvendia
Instagram: @AntonioSureshot • @MOTORMAVENS
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