The MkIV Toyota Supra is the perennial king of the tuner car world. As a result, unmodified Japanese sports cars command a hefty premium and are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Thanks to his Zupra Channel team on YouTube, we had a chance to watch one of his stock Supras challenge its factory power ratings on the dyno.
This car is a 1993 left-hand drive model with a highly desirable 6-speed manual gearbox. Under the hood is the venerable twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter. 2JZ-GTE Much of the Supra's modern fame is owed to this engine. When this car was new, Toyota officially rated the engine at his 320 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque. That said, many wonder if Toyota is underestimating the factory numbers when considering the car's performance. Additionally, the 2JZ has been modified like any other engine, so it's no wonder these things have become a tuner's dream. The car managed to escape that fate for its first 113,000 miles, but that streak is coming to an end. Staff at The Zupra Channel will be documenting their efforts to fix this example, but it is not yet clear to what extent it will be shared. We know that the owner ordered a large amount of his OEM parts, including new lights, suspension components, and an exhaust system, to begin the renovation.
The dyno test of the car starts at around the 4 minute mark of the video. Despite not having the dramatics of most of his 2JZ pulls you've probably seen, this car looks and sounds great. However, these turbos do a good job of quieting the inline-six's song, so you can definitely handle a little more volume from the exhaust. Other than the lack of flames and a massive blowout, the car put out a healthy 275 horsepower and 257 pound-feet at the wheels. Drivetrain loss calculations vary widely depending on the powertrain layout, but according to Weistec Engineering, a rear-wheel drive vehicle like the Supra has drivetrain losses of approximately 15% when equipped with a manual gearbox. It is expected that Assuming the Supra isn't out of the norm here, that means this particular example is producing nearly all of the 320 crank horsepower it left the factory with 31 years ago. Everyone is free to do what they want with their cars, but it's a little disappointing to see such a clean stock vehicle go deeper down the modification rabbit hole.
Born and raised in Metro Detroit, Deputy Editor Lucas Bell has spent his entire life surrounded by the auto industry. He may be driving his aging Mustang every day, but most of his free time is spent in both his Porsche 944 and NB Miata.
