A couple of years ago, this ’85 Toyota Celica Supra greeted me from the parking lot of a local, neighborhood coffee shop. The model year is identifiable by the smoother sunshade mounted on the rear hatch and the absence of the third brake light mounted beneath the rear spoiler. These were Japanese muscle cars I always felt were okay to like in my hometown, the birthplace city of General Motors. The way the parking lot lights hit and cast shadows on this one’s lean, muscular, geometrically-sculpted body enhanced what I find to be this generation’s enduring visual appeal. Its successor, the A70 that appeared in the U.S. in the fall of ’86 (of which I am also a fan), sported smoother contours, but in terms of lasting beauty, the featured A60 – which ran from 1982 through ’86, is probably my favorite Supra of all time.
The U.S.-spec cars were reasonably fast for the times, able to do 0-60 mph in about 8.5, with a 16-second quarter-mile. Standard power for ’85 came from a 161-horse, 2.8L in-line six paired with a 5-speed manual. At the time these were new and in my young mind, I remember thinking of these as being legitimate alternatives to the high-spec Camaros and Firebirds that were plentiful on the streets of Flint, Michigan. While it has been a while since I’ve seen another Celica Supra of this vintage, I’d be willing to bet their survival rate surpasses that of same-year GM F-bodies.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Thursday, January 29, 2015.
Related reading from Paul Niedermeyer: Curbside Classic: 1985 Toyota Celica Supra MK II–The One I Should Have Bought.
Great find Joseph. I fully concur, these are my favorite Supras as well. Really appreciated the design theme Toyota was going with at the time.
Reminds me of one of my all time favorite issues of Motor Trend, from June ’83. Featuring the new Supra in the Sudden Samurai II showdown, plus the Turbo T-Bird.
young fellow I worked with in the eighties drove a 86 supra oh what a nice car
he beat it to pieces I always felt bad when I would see the bald tires and such
John was a nice guy but was always getting stoned wonder what became of him
Ugh, I don’t know why I didn’t test drive one of these?!? But I still remember the words of my roommate ringing in my ears – “Ya get a Toyota and it will be rusted to pieces in 3 years.” He was from the Calumet region of northwest Indiana (Da Region) and everything rusted to pieces in 3 years up there, so I don’t know why I listened and ignored the car.
I agree, I have always liked the lines on these too.
I loved these too! In high school, this was my number one “realistic” dream car (a Countach was cool but was never gonna happen….) But a sexy Supra was possible for mere mortals, and I really, really, really wanted one.
Like you, I also like the generation that succeeded this one–it was much more mature though, and lost some of the funky, edgy appeal that made these cars so striking.
Sadly, I haven’t seen one in person in years, though if I did now, it would probably catch my eye as effectively as an Aventador.
It’s funny you mention “high school dream car” – I remember my older brother saving / preserving a nicely-photographed print ad for one of these Celica Supras from a magazine to put on his wall. That left an impression on me, as I always considered him a tastemaker.
I like everything about the styling of that gen Supra except for one thing: the front bumper makes it look like it has a severe underbite.
I can’t un-see that now, but I get what you’re saying! I still like the frontal styling…I thought it was just different enough, and “hairier” enough, than the “regular” Celicas.
These are very nice cars. Their emphasis was on refinement, smoothness and sharp, precise handling instead of straight – line performance. They were definitely more BMW- like in this regard, even though they had Mustang – like packaging.
They were very reliable, durable and long – lived so long as the rust was kept at bay.
I bought one about 13 years ago (still have it) and found this to be a revelation of smoothness and precision,compared to my previous Firebird and 2 Mustangs. It was simply in a different class than its domestic rivals, although it was priced considerably higher when new.
Compared with new cars, they’re low and narrow. The interior is not exactly cramped but there’s very little elbow room. But they’re fully equipped with lovely attention to detail.
All in all a highly recommended and affordable sporty classic.
In the late 80’s I owned a 1985 Conquest, which I loved. A good friend was driving a 86 (I think) 300ZX, which felt like an American luxo-barge in comparison to the crisp, tight handling and buckboard ride of the Conquest. I only ever rode in this generation of Supra once, and it was during this same period. While I didn’t drive the car, my impression of the ride and handling as a passenger was that it fell somewhere in between the Mitsubishi and the Nissan. The body and interior felt vault-like though, which was saying a lot, as I think IIRC these Supras had frameless door glass. My Conquest had the very in vogue aircraft inspired doors with excellent interior fit and finish, and in truth that car had a very solid feel to it, but the Toyota had it beat for feeling rock solid. The sticker prices of the two were several thousand apart, I believe. I’d love to see that Motor Trend article that Daniel references posted her sometime.
Too bad the hidden headlights are stuck open. But that’s the thing about hidden headlights.
I owned one of these briefly in the mid-1990s. Mine was an ’83, same gray color as the subject car. Amazing cars, but they tend to rust really badly. I’ve never seen one without holes in the tailgate, even then, and most had no quarter panels too.
There are still a few of these running around LA, beaters to pristine examples. My mom always hated the Supras, Celicas and other sports cars including the MR2 but loves the Cressida. It always gives her a little wince when I mention that the Cressy is a “4 door Supra.”
Apologies for altering your original photo Joseph, but I affected the ‘curves’ in Photoshop to get a better look at this Supra. It’s in excellent condition, if needing a good cleaning. The driver door trim is missing, but it otherwise looks in great condition.
Daniel, awesome – thanks for posting that! If there had been another chance for me to photograph it in the daytime, I would have jumped on it. Yes – great lines on these machines. 🙂
Great picture. I’m amazed at your ability to take a dusty car in a grimy urban parking lot and make a masterful scene out of it. I don’t think I could take as good a picture if the Supra had been parked in a springtime meadow!
In the mid 1990s, a friend of my parents’ owned a 1984 Supra and was selling it for a newer car (she bought a Celica). I was really tempted by that car, since it was a low-mileage, always-garaged car owned by a mature lady. But unfortunately I just wasn’t in the market for a car then. In a way, I’ve often regretted not buying it, and think that I might still have it if I had bought it then.
A friend of mine had one, either ’85 or ’86 (I don’t remember the exact year anymore). When he had it in the late 1990’s it only had about 20,000 miles. I recall him changing the original tires out for fear of dry rot. His garage eventually got too full and he sold it, but not without a good deal of anguish. It was a very cool car and I also was sad to see it go.
Totally agree…these cars still make my heart beat faster. Wish I had been in a position to buy one.
In the spring of 1983 I was about to (finally!) graduate from college with a “marketable degree”. I wanted to celebrate this dubious, long delayed achievement with a new car.
I lusted after the ’83 Supra in the strongest way possible. I test drove it, loved it. Then the greedy, avaricious Toyota dealer not only refused to “dicker on the sticker”, they added an “additional dealer profit” premium of $500.00 onto the car’s sticker price. I was personally and fiscally insulted. “If you don’t buy it TODAY someone else will” said the somewhat smarmy salesman. I didn’t.
The Ford dealer, less than a mile away, was more than happy to bargain on the brand new-for-1983 slippery, aero Thunderbird. It’s midnight blue exterior, lighter blue cloth interior and it’s smooth & peppy (for 1983) 302 V8 & 4 speed automatic overdrive transmission proved to be a much cheaper alternative to the Supra.
Brings back good memories!!! My baby sister had one of these as her first car. It served her well but after she moved on to my middle sisters supercab ranger (massive downgrade) I took it with me for a few months. I was selling my Scrambler and looking for either a YJ or TJ Wrangler. Scrambler sold quickly so I had her Supra for about 3 months. Cheri was owner #2 of this super clean ’85. I half considered just buying it off her and keeping it a while, but the slushbox and doodoo brown color were just too much.
But what a fun ride! That smooth 2.8 straight 6 loved to rev and made this car a total rocket ship. As an owner of several Jeep CJs I was no stranger to the inline 6 configuration but the OHC ‘yota motor couldn’t be more different from my low revving but torque rich AMC 258s. Preludes and Civics always wanted a piece of me but they got the stomping they deserved. I never once lost a stoplight pissing match in the Supra. As great as it was, knowing the manual would be worlds better was just frustrating. Having spent time in plenty of this Supra’s contemporary Mustangs and GM Fbodies Ill confirm the Supra aged MUCH better. No doubt initial build quality was better. But I think that the demographics of the owner played into it too. These were spendy cars in their day–at one time (this car’s generation) the Supra was the priciest Toyota you could buy. They were sold to up and coming young professionals. The American ponies were cheap speed and got flogged as expected. Plus gobs of hp/torque available off idle tends to tear apart whatever it’s applied to so there ya go.
Once I scored a clean ’95 YJ the Supra went up for sale and found a buyer who was ecstatic to find it. Good times!
I had an ’83 Celica, but with the Supra wheels on it courtesy the previous owner. Even with the 4-banger, it was still a fun car to drive.
Of course up here in the land of snow and salt it rusted badly. Around ’93 I went back to the original wheels with decent tires and used it as a serviceable winter beater for several years into to the mid 90’s when the holes got too big and I got a sweet deal on a beater ’90 Integra. At the time it was still going strong mechanically with close to 300,000 km, and over those 7-ish years I did little to it in the way of non-maintenance repairs except for a couple of headlight motors, one turn signal switch, and one fuel pump. That era represents “Peak Toyota”, in my opinion.
I have always like the balanced proportions of this design. It just looks right to me. I was always a Datsun Z guy, which was quicker in the day. These were painted with black rear panels, wheel arches and bumpers. They look so much better in one color. I wish that I had bought one.
Some will know that I’m a long time fan and owner of these cars. It was my high-school dream car, and back in 2011 I made it happen.
I’ve always liked these, but never been in the market for one, so just probably part of the 100-car MM garage. Probably modified too, as I’m sure they can be a better car now than the factory built.