We haven't driven the new Toyota Supra yet, but we're pretty pumped about it. Even though naysayers hate the fact that it's got German underpinnings (a la BMW Z4), and many have criticized the car's looks compared to the famous Supra Turbo from the '90s, everyone who's driven it says it's superb. Now, the brand has unveiled TRD (Toyota Racing Development) parts upgrades for their potent sports car, and they're showing them off on the very yellow Supra TRD Concept shown here.
The whole purpose of unveiling the TRD Concept is to display the array of parts available for the new sports car. They're all functional upgrades versus simply aesthetic ones, but they look pretty sweet with oodles of carbon fiber from tip to toe. The part most owners won't like is that there are currently now engine or performance enhancements in terms of power output. But what the new parts do provide is improved airflow and downforce.
Most of the new parts are made of light and rigid carbon fiber weave, including a front spoiler, side skirts, door trim, rear diffuser, and a spoiler. The fins, side skirts, and spoiler increase downforce and prevent the car from lifting at higher speeds. Even the hockey stick-shaped door trim helps keep turbulence lower. There are also new wheels in the form of lighter than stock 19-inch forged aluminum wheels with a mesh spoke design in a hue that matches the rest of the TRD trim pieces.
The side skirts happen to lower the Supra's center of gravity, as well as give the car a slightly wider stance and additional stability. The only components that seem to be aesthetic only are the CF side mirrors that are likely a smidge lighter than stock, but probably not by much. But who cares? They look great and certainly do a nice job of rounding out the contrasting black carbon fiber look on that bright yellow paint job.
The price of all these components together is about $20K, or about the price of a new Corolla. That's quite a bit of coin for added aero and decreased weight, but we're sure the handling and stability benefit, as well as the car's looks. But if you add that to a loaded Supra ($59K), that's almost $80,000.
It's hard to believe anyone would plunk down that much money for a Supra, but who knows? Some rich dude recently paid $2.1 million for the first production 2020 Toyota Supra, and older '90s models sell for upwards of $100K. You could get a Porsche 718 Cayman S for that price, and the Cayman S was actually the car Toyota aimed for in developing the Supra's driving dynamics. The Porsche has more power, better handling, and you can actually get it with a proper manual transmission, unlike the Supra.
Toyota stated, "To be continued" on their TRD website regarding TRD components for the Supra, so hopefully that will mean other performance enhancements such as engine tuning, brakes, and suspension upgrades. It's anyone's guess as to how much those will cost if mere aero add-ons amount to 20 grand.
