The Toyota GR Supra lives up to the legacy

Machines With Souls is fast approaching year three of reviews, and in all that time, the only original BMW to score a perfect ten was an E46 M3. I’m a tough judge. And yet, staring at you before this very page is a BMW with a perfect score. Yup. All the Toyota GR Supra needed was a little help from uh…well from Toyota.

They could have called it anything else. Maybe they should have. But if you let this car’s legacy affect you, you’ll be missing out on what is perhaps one of the last, best sports cars on sale today.

The 2025 Toyota GR Supra Overview

Toyota absolutely did the right thing. The last Supra was a sales failure. The Celica died. The LFA was one of the best cars to ever come out of Japan, but even that wasn’t enough. The Supra nameplate amounted to being a Broncos fan long after John Elway retired. There was greatness here, but you missed it kid, sorry.

Then BMW rang and offered a deal. In exchange for the hydrogen technology Toyota developed, BMW would build the Supra for Toyota on the Z4’s platform. And I do mean build – it’s from Austria, it has a BMW chassis code – the only thing Japanese on this car is the name of the orange shade it’s painted. Mikan, if you’re wondering.

But there’s more here. Like BMW M, Toyota was allowed to tune it themselves. That means their own engine software, suspension settings, transmission bushings, and whatever else BMW would let them change. The car that’s appeared out of the factory doors is about as far from a Z4 as Toyota could get.

But it’s also not really a Supra. If you were a fan, you were probably hoping for Top Gun: Maverick; a refreshed take on the original. This Supra isn’t that, so let’s find out what it really is.

Performance Score: 9. An S away from greatness

Remember that when this car debuted, it was down on horsepower – just 335. No stick option either. Both issues were fixed, and this 2025 45th Anniversary edition you see before me has a six-speed manual and the full beans 385 horsepower.

It’s still not enough.

Engine

I want to start with sound. This is the same engine that’s in my X3 M40i, but it doesn’t sound anything like it. If I’m honest, it sounds like a 2JZ with an exhaust – you know, that bassy trumpet that’s probably embedded in your cerebellum from Fast and Furious.

The engine itself is also excellent, and attaching it to a manual allows one to enjoy all the little nuances of the B58. Revs build quickly, then fall away just as fast once you let off the throttle. And hey – lineage intact. It’s still a turbo inline-six. Perhaps the best one ever made.

Almost. It’s no surprise BMW won’t give up the S58 for installation here, but wow, this Supra would be incredible with another 100 horsepower. As it stands, you just want a bit more as you approach redline. On the other hand, you can enjoy this car through third gear without going to jail. Try that in an M2.

Transmission

Here it is. I knew there was more to be had from the manual in my M3, and that’s why it’s leaving. The Supra fixes everything – Toyota changed some bushings and a clutch plate, so it isn’t a glow up like the one your prom date gets. That said, it’s got more precise throws, the clutch take up is more direct, the shifter nowhere near as rubbery. Hell, even the shape of the rower itself is better.

It’s nearly Porsche-level – about as good as it gets. Maybe the only negative is clutch travel that’s too long, making you sit closer to the wheel than needed. It’s a common BMW sin.

Though you can get a ZF eight-speed, please don’t. This is clearly a manual worth saving.

Steering and Chassis

Not to repeat myself, but again Toyota works miracles with BMW parts. The steering rack is tuned to progressively build effort, while maintaining its Germanic directness. Every M car would score a ten if it felt like this.

What makes the GR Supra an everyday thing is the ride, which never ever beats you up yet is always firm and controlled. There is an adaptive sport suspension tied to an overall Sport mode, which changes throttle response and opens the muffler flap. I never drove without it, because the Supra felt great even with everything stiffened up.

The GR does have a shorter wheelbase than say, an M2, so the ride can be a bit busy over rough roads, but the Supra is just as easy to control. Michelin Pilot Super Sports bring M car meats to help cornering even more.

Turn off the traction control and do drifting around corners with the bros in the morning (who, me?), then have your date in and go out to dinner at night. It’s brilliant.

Brakes

We go nuts for big brakes, but the Supra looks like it has the same units from my X3 M40i. That’s okay – this can absolutely be a track car.

The pedal is firm and reassuring, but is missing the aggressive bite I always miss from BMWs. There’s no adjustable feel here like in an M3.

The Toyota GR Supra is a sports car, a grand tourer, a track machine, and a back-road burner all in one. It’s one of my favorite cars I’ve ever driven, and I’d have one over a Mark IV, especially considering the price.

Lifestyle Score: 7. Ouch

As I fast approach 41 years of age, I will admit that bending down into a car this low and small every day gives me pause. But my age has nothing to do with that door frame.

Ouch!

It just cuts in right as you lower your noggin into the Supra, and you can be 8, 18, or 80; you’ll do it the first time, I promise. After that, you’ll learn your lesson as I did, but then you’re sort of folding yourself into it more then getting into it.

Complete that task, and find a cabin that’s pretty well-packaged. It’s more roomy than the Nissan Z. The seats themselves are comfortable, but the bottom cushion isn’t as supportive as I’d like. Think F30 Sport seats with a one-piece back and you’ll get the idea. Still, long-haul comfy for sure.

The hatch is also acceptable in size. You can fit food shopping in without issue. But the 45th Anniversary Edition comes with an adjustable spoiler that can sometimes weigh down the hatch after you’ve opened it. What it needs is stronger dampers to pop it up more, and it feels criminal to not have a clothesline spoiler offered from the factory.

Fuel Economy: 9. Manual penalty

The Toyota Supra GR will get 27 MPG on the highway, down from 31 with the automatic. Combined, it’s about 21.

For the amount of fun you’ll have, you’re going to see less than that, but it’s a great number considering this is a nearly 400-horsepower sports car. An old Supra won’t come close, and it’s even slightly better than the Z.

Features and Comfort: 9. Hand-me-downs

I think you and I might be looking at this the wrong way. Instead of saying “Hey, that’s the HVAC from an F30!”, we should be thinking of this car from the perspective of a Toyota fan, the Corolla lifer, who has finally saved up enough to get a Supra for their midlife divorce crisis.

“Wow, it’s so premium in here!”

The best bits

With 200,000 combined miles on BMW F30 3 Series, I would be the expert in living with one. So it’s hardly a disappointment for me when I sit inside the Supra and see those wonderful dual-knob climate controls that are so easy to change on the fly. I do wish they had a SYNC button.

Look into the dash and find the perfect blend of a real dial (tach), integrated with digital screens. Everything is easy to read, with the actual tachometer adding a wonderful old-school element.

Elsewhere is iDrive 6 with that iconic controller, which is fine because that’s all you need. There’s the steering wheel from an F30 too. Toyota touches include a 12-speaker JBL stereo with gigantic subwoofers right behind you, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay, heated seats, auto-dimming headlights, and carbon fiber trim on the center tunnel that looks like it came out of the G80.

The result: it’s on another planet in here compared to a Nissan Z, the BRZ, a WRX, or anything else aside from a Z4. Speaking of, I know the Z4 has the full BMW treatment, but the information is just presented differently inside that car, not necessarily in a better fashion.

Celebrating 45 years

It simply worked out that I drove a 15th Anniversary Edition Mark IV back-to-back with this 45th Anniversary Edition, and my God don’t those numbers sound far apart?

Just 900 of these Supras will be made, and for your $65,470, you get 19-inch forged matte black wheels, SUPRA side graphics, an orange strut tower brace, Mikan Blast metallic paint, black leather on the seats, and a manually adjustable rear wing. I say manual because you can use a socket to adjust the angle of attack. Apparently, whether it be a targa roof or this wing, Toyota really wants you to build the car yourself.

The styling is great – only the mirrors are obvious BMW leftovers. I know much of the bodywork is tacked on (just open the doors to see what I mean), but that doesn’t hurt the effect for me. Japanese cars have always been festooned with cartoonish scoops and slats.

A lot of people look at you too, for whatever that’s worth. Sorry ladies, it’s just an old man borrowing a Toyota.

This is a Toyota Supra if you want it to be

You can get a Supra GR for as little as $56,250, some $10 grand less than this Orange-you-glad edition, and I think that’s a terrific deal. You miss out on some of the nicer things, but the engine, transmission, and suspension are all there. A Nissan Z is slightly cheaper, but there’s no way I’d pick one of those over a Supra.

Are you still mad that this isn’t a 2JZ-powered, hoop-spoiler clad, made-in-Japan automotive museum piece? Blame yourself. You didn’t buy the last one. In fact, you don’t buy any sports cars, period, which is why Nissan also cut all the corners when making their Z. Mazda and Mitsubishi never even bothered.

Sure, it’s made in Austria (by Magna-Steyr, the makes of the G-Wagon!), and I see a ton at every BMW meet I attend, but I think that’s a bonus. Though it’s no more capable than an M2, it feels better. More refined. More focused on sport, less on “Will this beat Mercedes to the sales finish line?”.

It’s also the last lap for this car. Rumors say it’ll be gone in 2026. I hope not.

The world is simply not as nice a place without a Supra in it.

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