1993 Toyota Supra Turbo (Mk IV)

The Story

The fourth-generation Toyota Supra arrived in 1993 as Japan's answer to the world's supercars, and few cars have aged into legend so completely. Its smooth, bubble-shaped body and towering rear wing wrapped around one of the toughest engines ever built: the 3.0-liter twin-turbo 2JZ-GTE inline-six.

In US trim the 2JZ-GTE was rated at 320 horsepower, sent through a Getrag six-speed manual to the rear wheels. The two turbochargers worked sequentially, the first spooling early for low-end punch and the second joining at higher revs for a relentless top-end surge. Properly driven, the Turbo could reach 60 mph in the mid-four-second range and run to an electronically limited 155 mph.

What made the engine immortal was its over-built cast-iron block, which could withstand huge boost increases on stock internals. Tuners discovered four-figure horsepower was achievable with bolt-on parts, and the 2JZ became the holy grail of the import-performance scene.

Then came Hollywood. The orange Mk IV Supra driven by Paul Walker in The Fast and the Furious turned an already respected machine into a cultural icon for a whole generation. Today, clean six-speed Turbo cars command supercar money, and the A80 Supra stands as the definitive Japanese performance hero of the 1990s.