2021 Toyota Supra: Expectations and what we know so far

2021 Toyota Supra: What we know so far 

Back in 2019, Toyota debuted the fifth-generation Toyota Supra. This of course generated a lot of hype since it is the successor to the now legendary A80 Supra, which was last sold in 1997.  Currently, the J29 Supra is Toyota Motor Philippines’ most powerful offerings, positioned just above the GT86. 

For the 2021 model year, Toyota decided to update the Supra, making the inline-6 version make more power from 335 horsepower to 382 horsepower. This more powerful version of the fifth-gen Supra however isn’t likely to arrive in the Philippines anytime soon. As such, the current version that we have right now will most likely be carried over for this year. 

So, what can we expect from the 2021 Toyota Supra? Well, much of the same really. 

The fifth-generation 2020-2021 Toyota Supra

2021 Toyota Supra: Exterior 

Currently, the Philippine-spec Supra is one of the sportiest-looking models in the Toyota Philippines model lineup. As the marque’s flagship sports car, its exterior already comes with all the bells and whistles like LED headlights, LED turn signal lights and taillights, a rear spoiler, among others. 

The rear-end of the Toyota Supra

One thing that irks most car enthusiasts however is the noticeable wealth of faux vents littered on many parts of the car. The Toyota Supra, however, won’t be getting a facelift anytime soon, so we’ll have to make do with aftermarket body kits to hide those away. Nevertheless, the aerodynamic body of the Supra, its proportions, and even down to its stock wheel design are all eye-catching and attractive. 

2021 Toyota Supra: Interior 

Just like the exterior, we can’t complain much about the Supra’s interior. It’s simple and clean cockpit is already luxurious, and is very well equipped with what one expects from a car of its price. It comes with automatic climate control, cruise control, a push to start button, a twelve-piece JBL speaker set, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, electronically adjustable seats, and many other useful features.

For a luxury performance car, the Supra's cockpit is a bit utilitarian-looking  

Like most Toyota models, however, the Supra doesn’t have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Instead, it links your smartphone to its 8.8-inch touchscreen using Toyota’s T-Link software. It works just right, but some might prefer the Android Auto or Apple Carplay. 

2021 Toyota Supra: Engine and Performance 

As we’ve said before, the Supra got more powerful in other markets. The engineers at Toyota managed to squeeze more out of the turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 engine, bringing up its maximum horsepower output to 382 hp.  

As for the Philippine version however, Toyota PH hasn’t said anything about releasing the more powerful version locally. That said, the 2021 Supra for the Philippines will keep its output at 335 horsepower and 500 Nm of torque. The Supra uses a rear-wheel-drive drivetrain and an eight-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters. 

The Toyota Supra's inline-6 engine which was co-developed with BMW

Apart from the added power, the revised Supra also gets a new tune for its power steering as well as for its adaptive variable suspension and stability control. So yes, the revised 2021 Supra, as Toyota puts it, handles better than the old Supra (the one that we have).

2021 Toyota Supra: Safety 

A car this powerful will need an equally competent safety kit. As such, it already comes with seven airbags, speed-sensing door locks, a tire pressure monitoring system, traction and stability control, anti-lock braking with electronic brake-force distribution, among others. 

We’ve heard some people expressing that they want Toyota’s driver-assist safety suite on the Supra. To that, however, one can argue that the Supra was made to be an all-out driving machine that’s meant to provide the most connection between a driver and a car. So no, we wouldn’t want to see the Toyota Safety Sense on the Supra.

>>> Related: 2021 Toyota GR Supra Sport Top makes open-air driving more fun

2021 Toyota Supra: Final Thoughts 

There’s hardly anything to complain about the Supra. It's already a competent car when it comes to the purpose of driving enjoyment. That said, however, some purists out there are still clamoring for a manual version.

Apart from having more power, the revised Supra also gets more color choices depending on the market

How about the more powerful version? Well, as we’ve said, Toyota PH is yet to announce its intention of bringing in the newer, more powerful version of the fifth-gen Supra. If it turned out that it’s coming however, expect a significant price bump.  

2021 Toyota Supra: Expected Price

Currently, the sole variant of the Toyota Supra available in the Philippines has a price tag of Php 4,990,000. Due to taxes, inflation, and what not, we can expect that figure to go up slightly this year. And no, it looks like Toyota PH won’t be introducing the “presumably” cheaper inline-4 version anytime soon either.

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