Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Evaluation On Toyota Supra Cars


The Toyota Supra was one of Toyota's most popular sporting cars that gained many, many fans and spawned many racing enthusiasts and Supra lovers all over the world. The Mark I is the first generation of the car and ran from 1979 to 1981. The Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, and was then known as the Toyota Celica Supra until its third generation, then the Celica was dropped and it was essentially its own car. The assembly of this masterpiece was done strictly in Japan, and the body style consists of 2+2 fastback GT coupe car format. The look of the Mark I was longer and wider when compared to the Celica, and the engine of the first four generations can trace their direct engine roots to the Toyota 2000GT.

The overall dimensions of the car with wheelbase at 2628.9mm, a length of 4615.2mm, a width of 1651mm, a height of 1290.3mm and a curb weight of 2800lbs, where there were subtle variations as the years rolled on. The first year of production of the Supra, named the Toyota Celica XX, saw the car having all modern conveniences of the period of power windows and locks, cruise control, arm rests, tilt steering wheel, deep zippered pockets, a tonneau cover, AM/FM/MPX 4 speaker radio, analog clock and tachometer. The engine was completely changed from the four cylinder of the Celica to the Inline 6, and the first year saw two engines on different sides of the pond; 2.6 litre 12 valve SOHC inline 6 engine. and the 2.0 litre 12 valve SOHC inline 6 engine (M-EU) that both out putted 110hp 184 Nm. They were the first Toyota engines to have electronic fuel injection. They also had either a four speed automatic or a five speed manual transmission with overdrive gear.

The solid rear axle configuration was kept from the Celica, which had optional limited slip differential. The car has standard four wheel disc brakes, which suspension that consists of MacPherson Struts and stabilizer bar at the front, and four link suspension with coil springs, stabilizer bar, and lateral track bar at the back. In 1980, the changes that occurred to the car was a increase performance engine of 2.0 litre 12 valve SOHC Turbocharged inline 6 engine that delivered 145hp, and a torque of 211 Nm. It was the first Toyota engine to have a turbocharger, and it was outfitted with a Garrett T03 Turbo, but was not intercooled. There were also a few aesthetic changes like the addition of mudflaps with "Celica" on them, redesigned side mirrors, bigger aluminum rims, leather trimmed seating, and climate control.

In 1981, the final year of the Mark I, there was a massive engine upgrade with a 2.8 litre 12 valve SOHC engine but achieves 116hp, and a torque of 197Nm. The automatic transmission was also revamped as the Toyota A43D, as it attained a final drive setting. The change of the Mark I saw the Supra achieve acceleration from 0-60mph 10.24 seconds and the quarter mile in 17.5 seconds. It was a highly impressive performance at the time, and it was considered a supercar for the road. The last big addition was the sports package that offered raised white letter tyres, sport suspension, back and front spoilers, and the first introduction of the 8-track cartridge in any Supra.

Source: Toyota Supra Mark I

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