Toyota’s failure to crack the U.S. pony car market over the long term is one of its few major stumbles. When I found the pristine Celica Supra Mk I and then ran across this sad-looking and likely abandoned/stolen Mark III, I knew it was fated that I do a three-parter on the first three generations of Toyota’s ill-fated pony car challenger. It took me a while to find the Mark II, but now we’re at the point of pulling the whole thread together. I’m far from an expert on the Mark III, so please add to the limited body of knowledge I can either muster or fake. One thing is clear: Toyota’s trajectory for the Supra led to a dead end–and that path started early on, perhaps right from the get-go. And the Mark III clearly marked the beginning of the end.
The regular Celica’s mission in life was relatively easier, at least longer than for the Supra. The Celica was to the Mustang and Camaro what the Corona/Corolla was to the Impala/Malibu and the like: a smaller, lighter and cheaper alternative when those attributes were in demand. But despite a strong start and a fairly good run, in the end the Celica’s mission didn’t work out, due to the Mustang’s incomparable dollar/horsepower value and the return of buyer interest in V8-powered pony cars.
But the Supra had an even harder road to hoe. On the pricey side from the beginning, it kept getting even more expensive. Also, its market positioning was problematic: The Mark II had the kind of high-tech features not all that common at the time (DOHC six, IRS, et.al.) and superb build quality to pull off its super-Mustang price, never mind that much of its performance envelope was eclipsed by the crude but effective ‘Stang.
The Mark III represented a substantial notch upward in terms of chassis sophistication (double-wishbone suspension) and performance (turbo version), and an upscale move overall. Based on Toyota’s Soarer, the Mark III also got the cream of Toyota’s engine stable at the time, the 3.0-liter 7M-GE four-valve inline six. The normally aspirated version made 200 hp, and the (mild) turbo 230 hp. Although quite a healthy jump from the 160 hp of the Mark II, the contemporary Mustang GT made 225 horses, and for thousands less.
The niche for high-tech, JDM-style sports tourers was small and too crowded; its inevitable collapse wouldn’t come to full fruition until the Mark IV era, but sales numbers for the III were shrinking (which is borne out by the dearth of Supras of this vintage on the streets here). For quite a while, this one was the only one I came across. I’ve seen one or two since then, but they’re pretty elusive.
And though you might be turned off by the condition of this yellow buzz-bomb, I find it strangely appealing. The contrast of the yellow paint and the dirt (or whatever has stained it) is compelling, photographically. I strongly suspect that this car was stolen and then abandoned here, since there are no houses nearby. It’s also attracted the attention of a prospective next owner, judging from the tattered note on the windshield asking: “Is this car for sale?” You wouldn’t likely see that on an old, tattered Mustang. The Supra may be gone, but it’s anything but forgotten.
You’re a gardener, Paul, but, evidently, not a farm boy! Re: the 3rd paragraph – “But the Supra had an even harder road to hoe.” One does not hoe a road, but, rather, a ROW. But, then, I suspect you knew that.
I’m a gardener, but the Supra isn’t; its challenges were on the road. It’s a word play….
Of course. Too subtle for me, I guess.
Cheers!
I’m kicking myself for not buying my neighbour’s white Supra when I had the money and it was for sale.It has a bit of Corvette/F body look about it but superior build quality and that’s coming from a long time fan of Detroit iron!
An attractive car. The Mustang made for a tough market for these cars, and an almost irresistible combination of price and performance. European competitors could get by with the hefty price premium (with little if any performance enhancement) due to the snob factor. But not Toyota, unfortunately. To most people, Toyota means quality and value. They could have sold a moderate price disadvantage in exchange for higher quality, but these were quite expensive as I recall. Had they eventually stuffed a Lexus V8 into the thing, that might have been an entirely different proposition.
Right, so, where was this car underwater and for how long?
That is just the normal mold and moss growth you find if you let a car sit out in western OR or WA for a couple of years where it will stay wet or at least damp for 6-9 months out of the year.
Yeck, impressive!
Douglas fir pollen, initially a creamy yellow color when it falls in January or February, will darken to a moss green by the end of the summer. It’s hard to dislodge from nooks and crannies too – any outdoor car may well have bits of it next to rubber moldings, inside the edges of the deckled, and other such places. If a car sits under a fir tree for one season and isn’t washed it can well look exactly like this Supra.
Popular cars when newer having no new Mustangs out here at cheap prices to compete with Japanese sport coupes sold well but they werent cheap that is a purely US phenomenum our cars cost more than double US prices. Of course many Supras in NZ came in used ex JDM even then I dont see many lately where did they all go?
A) Blown head gaskets/cracked heads B) Wrapped wround trees, lamp posts etc C) rust – but that wasn’t as bad for these than the previous ones.
I remember seeing a really ratty, rusty one of these in black when I was in high school in the late ’90s. I’ve probably seen less than a dozen of them since then.
I always liked the looks of these, and considered them more in Porsche 924S/RX-7 territory than the Camaro and Mustang. I think these were in the $26-28K range, even in the late ’80s.
My brother-in-law inherited his father’s ’86 Supra 8 years ago. His father was 80-something when he bought it – he’d decided that his MkV Cortina Ghia was a bit slow, so he bought the turbo Supra (burgundy with burgundy interior). My brother-in-law had it (among many other vehicles) until 2-3 years ago when it got on-sold due to lack of use. My sister and brother-in-law live in an area of unsealed roads, and the Supra was apparently extremely effective as a mostly-sideways rally car.
There’s still a gorgeous ’86ish Supra living in my town in the Waikato. It’s been here as long as I can remember (10+ years). Over than time it’s received fresh paint (dark blue), big wheels, big exhaust and a blow-off valve. Sounds like a boy racer car yes, but it’s survived a long time and is always spotless.
Interestingly they did rally this model of Supra, very briefly…. evidently it didn’t do very well though.
I really like this body style too…too bad the 90s generation Supra was so bloated.
I never thought of them as a Pony/Muscle Car………more of a Japanese 924/944.
You beat me to it–yes, they seemed to be more of a GT car than a hot rod.
These old Supra’s were related during development to the 2 door coupe Soarer series in home market Japan. As a whole they were regarded more as grand touring sports cars than real sport coupes in their first two generations (research the ultra luxury Soarer to see why). Here in the US, these second gen cars were heavy, pricey, and slow compared to the competition. That said, they were of high quality construction and, in the home market, came with very potent engine potential: by August 1990, the 2.5 GT Twin Turbo R (only “280” ps) was the fastest series production car from Japan at that time. Other Japanese market models included (gasp!) the 105 ps S, and deliciously satisfying 210 ps (2.0 I-6) GT Twin Turbo.
That Soarer bears a remarkable resemblance to the 2nd and 3rd generation Prelude. Although I presume it’s larger, and RWD.
I see these around Los Angeles not too infrequently. They’re no longer as common as they once were, but they aren’t in the rara avis category, either. However, I think a lot of them have been modified; file under “Big Turbos and Other Bad Ideas.”
The big problem for both the Supra and Celica was price, particularly as the dollar-yen exchange rate shifted. By ’94 or so, a Celica GT listed for $25K with air, and that was with a not terribly refined four-cylinder engine with something like 135 hp. (An Integra GS-R was a bargain, comparatively.) The final U.S.-market Supras were in the $40K realm even in normally aspirated form and I shudder to think of the insurance rates, especially for male drivers under 25.
i believe most shops in East LA and Hollywood have a supra or rx7 sitting on the side, usually red or silver
These made a nice GT car for Toyota, but the prices were high, I always called the vintage Supra the Japanese Trans Am, not in bad way, but they styling has a Trans Am vibe with the pop-ups and semi wrap rear hatch, they could have had a targa roof, which the one here doesn’t have, and a turbo after the first mid 86 intro, I remember these being called an 861/2 in some ads when they first came out. They had an optional TEMS which was a Toyota ride control system, I think it was shared with the Cressida. The tape deck had a cool graphic with little leds moving in the direction the tape was playing.
The Gabe Kaplan look a like that lived in my grandmothers condo complex had a brand new silver one of these with burgandy interior and a 5 speed, I remember him taking me around the block when it was new, he did a quick 1-2 blast up to 60 on a side road, I was in car lust. I’ve always had a thing for this vintage Supra.
I best remember these as a great starter car deal in Gran Turismo 2…
And once suped up, the turbo lag was unbelievable terrible!
You wouldn’t likely see that on an old, tattered Mustang.
Depends on the leanings of the local hormonal teen boys whether you’ll find notes on tattered Mustangs or not.
I always thought these Supras only appealed to a really, REALLY specific kind of person – the kind of person who has no musical ability but only listens to super complicated tech-metal because of how difficult it is to play, or the kind of person who’s a Yankees fan but isn’t from New York, or the kind of guy that doesn’t get poetry but has “mad respect” for Ryan Seacrest cuz he’s obviously making boku bucks. Jason is that dude. He’s at home right now tearing it up in Halo 3 and rocking out to Dream Theater. His mom is so stupid and doesn’t know anything!
Then again, there is something about them that the weird dork part of everyone’s brain has to give “mad respect” to. I remember when they were still pretty new my friend James came by one day – we were probably 8 or 9 – and said he knew about something awesome I had to see. We rode our bikes way far out of our school district and came to one of those old Agip garages that looked long abandoned except for a storage yard of partially wrecked and disassembled cars out back. There was a fence about 8′ tall in the back with patches of barbed wire on top… we climbed over and there was an absolutely sick black Supra Turbo with tinted windows and some horribly 80’s aftermarket rims sitting there… and the doors were open! We hopped in and took turns pretending to be the most ultimate badasses on the planet, wishing it would somehow start without the keys, which it didn’t (good thing!)
Now back then, a car like that was right up my alley. It was foreign and somewhat exotic – and obviously FAST! James was into Camaros and stuff like that hardcore – but, just to re-iterate the sentiment expressed in this article – I can guarantee you neither of us would have tempted fate by riding several miles, risking life and limb, dodging barbed wire and trespassing some shady ass junkyard for an unlocked IROC-Z or some shit!!
Looks like it could have been the ’80s parent of the Mitsubishi Eclipse.
I’ve always wanted one of these. They were fairly popular out here in Kalifornia, but were always getting broken in to, or stolen outright and found stripped.
The seats were wonderful, and the stereo with the graphic equalizer was a prime “Steal Me!” target for the JD’s.
These Supras were built like tanks, one of the few cars that felt more stable the faster you went.
There were beefy subframes front and rear and the rumor was these weighed close to 4,000lbs, much more than the 3,600 claimed by Toyota. The Mk IV generation after this (the one made famous in Fast & Furious) can handle up to 1,000 HP with no sweat. Stock cars are incredibly expensive now, figure over $30k for an original low mileage example.
Wow!!! This was my high school car from 1995-2000, I still remember when my buddy and I painted the wiper blades red. On the deck lid you can see some faint holes where I had a giant spoiler mounted. This car brings back so many memories of my late father and I working on it. The car itself was a reconstructed title. The backend on the left side was smashed in. But we slowly put it back together and you can see the bondo showing through. This was the car I learned how to drive stick on. Funny thinking how hard I was on this car. I blew the head gasket twice on it. It was originally white and is actually a 1986.5. I wanted to have it painted yellow, and remember my dad painting it in our garage. Thank you for posting this, it’s crazy to see the car after so many years have passed. But the best part are all the memories of my dad and I working on it. Thank you again.