Is that a Supra? How else did you think we’d start an article dedicated to a car that created one of the biggest car memes and, more importantly, changed the way people look at ‘90s JDM cars? 

You may be wondering why we are discussing a 25-year-old car when there’s a new one on sale today. The latest Toyota Supra or the MK5 is certainly impressive. The car has incredible potential, good looks, and an iconic badge.

However, as good as it is, the Mk5 is surrounded by a bit of controversy. As it turns out, it shares quite a bit of its internals with the BMW Z4. The Mk4 or 1998 Toyota Supra, on the other hand, is the original purebred Japanese missile that has captivated thousands with its weapon-grade performance. Before prices went crazy in the last couple of years, it was also quite affordable especially when you consider that it has supercar-killing potential when heavily modified.

Toyota Supra – Where It All Began

It all began in 1978. Toyota was looking to take on the Nissan Z from the time which also happened to be the class leader. However, instead of developing a competitor from the ground up which would be the conventional approach, they decided to use one of their existing models as a base. The model in question was the company’s Celica and the by-product was fittingly called Celica Supra.

Even though the car featured a fresh design, a longer chassis, and was paired with an inline-six cylinder engine, Toyota didn’t try to hide the fact that it drew inspiration from the original Celica. Interestingly, the definition of ‘Supra’ was something that is above and beyond. Needless to say, the car certainly went on to live up to its name.

The first-generation Celica Supra was a capable machine. Toyota managed to make the car more powerful by using the 2.6-liter 4M-E inline-6 engine compared to the original 4-pot that came in a standard Celica. This point in Toyota’s engine design marks the separation of two distinct schools of thought within the company — one building workhorse motors such as the 3RZ unit, and the other tasked with developing high performance motors. While it did have unique styling, some would still consider its rival — the Nissan Z — to be slightly better looking. Despite having certain advantages, Nissan continued to be more popular. Even so, the first gen indicated the arrival of a legendary six-pot that would forever be associated with the Supra moniker. 

Still a ‘Celica’

Only 3 years after the introduction of the first-gen Toyota Supra, there was a second one. In 1981, the Supra was on the receiving end of a major overhaul when it came to its design. Toyota also made sure that the Celica Supra look less like a Celica and more like the individual model it was evolving into. 

At this point, the car was known as the Celica Supra everywhere except in Japan where everyone used the Celica XX name for both the first and second gen. While the first-generation tied inline-six-cylinder engines to the Supra brand, the second introduced a turbocharged option.

The 1986 Toyota Supra

While the 1998 Toyota Supra is the most iconic one, it wasn’t the first actual Supra. That title belongs to the 1986 model. This was the year when the company decided to make the Celica and Supra individual models. The Celica was a more-affordable front-wheel-drive sports car, while the Supra only came in a rear-wheel-drive configuration. For the first time ever the two models had no real similarities. 

This time around, the Supra was based on the Soarer platform, making it significantly larger. The extra size and other benefits such as the double wishbone suspension all around, were enough for Toyota to position the Soarer as its flagship performance offering. Other borderline revolutionary features — at the time — include electronically adjustable suspension and three-channel ABS. The adjustable suspension offered electronic dampening.

The third-gen got a revised version of the inline-6 cylinder engines. Export variants got stuck with the M series block, which was decent enough. However, as is tradition, the Japanese kept the best motor for their domestic application. The 1JZ may not be as popular as its successor, but it paved the way for the ultimate Toyota inline-6 experience.

In Comes the Mk4 Toyota Supra

While many consider the 1998 Toyota Supra to be the gold standard of the Mk4 range, this generation was available since 1993. And it was a game changer. The Japanese carmaker put a lot of effort into the development of this model, and it was apparent. Powering the fourth-generation Supra was a new engine – the now legendary 2JZ. While this was a new engine for the Supra, it first saw use in the Toyota Aristo back in 1991.

Many compared the 2JZ to the M engine series seen in the previous generation, yet there wasn’t much to compare. Yes, they were both 3.0 inline-six-cylinder engines that could be optioned with a turbocharger. However, that’s where the similarities ended. The 2JZ addressed several issues the older engine had while also bringing a bunch of headroom to the table. 

The engine wasn’t the only jaw-dropping thing about this car either. Toyota’s choice of interior design was on point as well. The instrument cluster and center console were said to be inspired by the airplane cockpit with everything angled towards the driver. Dominating the driver’s view is a massive tachometer in the center, with the speedometer taking a flanking position to the right. Like most other vehicles from the 90s, the dashboard had a large number of buttons. However, when it came to the 1998 Toyota Supra all these buttons were quite neatly integrated.

The Mk4 or 1998 Toyota Supra came with larger wheels, more safety equipment, more powerful brakes, and an advanced twin-turbo setup. It also brought a number of unique features including active aerodynamics. The front lip on the Supra helps improve downforce when you reach higher speeds. Despite being well-equipped, the company managed to keep the car’s weight in check. It was 220 lb lighter than its predecessor.

What contributed the most to the weight savings of the 1998 Toyota Supra was the use of magnesium and aluminum in multiple areas. Toyota opted for aluminum for the hood, suspension upper arms, bumper supports, and more. 

Thanks to this, a stock 1998 Supra is capable of getting to 60 MPH in 4.6 seconds and covering the quarter mile in a respectable 13.1 seconds. This generation of the Supra was discontinued in North America in 1998 but continued to be on sale in Japan until 2002 when the rising Japanese Yen and lower demand for sports cars led to the discontinuation of the Supra altogether. It only went on to be reintroduced almost two decades later in the form of the Mk5 we mentioned earlier.

1998 Toyota Supra – What Made It Famous?

The 1998 Toyota Supra was the star of one of the most important car movies ever. In “The Fast and the Furious” series, the Supra was front and center with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. The movie did a great job at highlighting the formative years of the JDM tuning scene in the US. The movie also featured a street race between a modified 1998 Toyota Supra and a Ferrari F355. The Toyota Supra won that race on the silver screen, but no one really questions this car’s ability to repeat the same results in real life. 

Enthusiasts began modifying the 1998 Toyota Supra in the early 2000s. This was the same time the JDM scene began growing exponentially. While the early efforts to tune the 2JZ often resulted in unstable builds, especially in terms of electronics, it was evident that the car had potential. The aftermarket for the 1998 Toyota Supra caught on in no time, thus providing solid support to anyone who was looking into building one of these engines. You could double the car’s power output with nothing but stock internals. That said, heavily modified 1998 Toyota Supras are known to make over 1000 HP.

As you can imagine, the Mk4 Toyota Supra ended up being a good candidate for road racing. The car secured numerous Top 10 and Top 20 finishes in the SSGT1 class in One Lap of America. To give you an idea of capabilities, it had a skid pad rating of 0.95 and 0.98 lateral Gs. These were phenomenal figures for the time. 

The 1998 Toyota Supra made use of a four-channel ABS that was designed for track use. Each of the sensors in this configuration is independent, allowing the car to blip the brakes as it sees fit. 

This braking tech was ahead of its time and would later find its way into Formula 1 cars. It also helped the Mk4 Toyota Supra get from 70 MPH to 0 MPH in 149 feet. To put that into perspective, this was the best braking distance of any production car tested in 1997. The Toyota Supra held the record until 2004 when it was broken by the significantly more expensive Porsche Carrera GT.

1998 Toyota Supra – Common Issues

While the 1998 Toyota Supra is certainly a legend, that doesn’t change the fact that the youngest Mk4 Supras are already 25 years old. This means one has to look out for its known issues. Here’s a list.

• Rear hatch rust
• Hatch rattle
• Blown turbos
• Bad coil packs
• Targa rattle and leaks
• Cracked or hard leather
• Rust under the stock battery tray

Since finding a stock example of the 1998 Toyota Supra is close to impossible these days, expect to deal with other people’s projects if you want a Mk4 Supra. Custom bodywork and bright paint jobs could also be hiding crash damage which is why it’s important to inspect it thoroughly.

What Is the Mk4 Supra Worth?

For the longest time, the Mk4 Toyota Supra was available for a reasonable amount of money. In fact, that was one of the reasons it was such a popular car to tune. With an affordable entry point, buyers often had plenty of money left over to spend on modifications. These modified Toyota Supras would then outperform vehicles that cost several times more

That was the whole idea of this vehicle. However, the last few years have seen Mk4 prices reach absurdly high figures. It doesn’t help that the prices of stock, low-mile examples aren’t going down. All that said, the Supra bubble could burst soon. After all, these cars are getting old. A stock low-mileage 1998 Toyota Supra will never be cheap, but a heavily modified one might just come within reach soon enough.