A Supra experience in one super machine

This review first appeared in the August 2020 edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News published out of Folsom, California – mg
 

Sacramento, California – Sometimes, you drop into the cockpit seat of a car that you know is deserving of special attention.  Even as you are in charge of the controls, you know that others will be watching you.

You sit up a little straighter.  Grip the steering wheel a bit tighter. And savor the moments you have behind the wheel.

Such is the case with the 2020 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium sports car (pictured, photo by Charles Glover).

I always liked the Supra ... Yes, even the Supras with the over-the-top rainbow wing in the back.  And I was mystified when Toyota walked away from the venerable sports car in 2002, after producing four generations of the model.

I was overjoyed at news of its return in 2019.  I was more than overjoyed after a recent week in the Supra.  I'm talking red-hot sports car love.  You could write a romance novel about it.

For starters, the Supra looks incredible ... a spectacular sculpture of menacing front-end and side-panel angle cuts that shout out the look of a purpose-built racer. On the back, a gently curved trunklid hovers over perfectly placed dual exhausts.

The interior is generously equipped with customer-pleasing luxury/convenience features and state-of-the-art safety technology. Even with a powerhouse engine, fuel mileage is an impressive 24 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.  Frankly, I would expect to pay more than the bottom line on the tester's sticker: $57,259.

Beyond all that, driving it is the most satisfying pleasure.  Taking it down a freeway entrance ramp gives you an impressive jolt of power and an easy-on-the-ears rumble from under the hood and out the exhausts.

At the bottom of the ramp, I ask for more from the turbocharged 3-liter, six-cylinder engine rated at 335 horsepower, and it is delivered with heavyweight gut-punch authority.  Surrounding cars seem to freeze in place as the Supra blazes into the distance.

From there, agility, handling, steering and firmness are top-tier.  It takes corners with monorail firmness.

To date, you don't see many Supras on the road.  If you get one, expect plenty of attention.  Neighbors and fellow motorists were drawn to the tester in record numbers.

True story: I was on the left side of a double left-turn lane when the driver of the vehicle on my right signaled for my attention.  Mobile phone in hand, he wanted to take a photo of the Supra.  Just then, the light turned green.  I motioned for him to follow me, and he did, into a nearby convenience store parking lot, where he snapped away.

I thought: This must be what it's like to be Brad Pitt.

Apparently, mine was not a unique experience.  A Motor Trend magazine writer said of his time in the car: "The Supra drew more gas station attention/queries than pricier cars filling up beside it."

So, ego-boosting attention is part of the deal, free of charge.  I guess that's what makes this Supra so special.