As production ended on the Toyota GR Supra in March, the curtains were drawn on the most contentious period in the history of the Supra, which spanned five generations. The Supra journeyed through a tumultuous era, partially due to the anticipation surrounding its launch, its German heritage, and the pressure of meeting the legacy of the legendary MkIV Supra, a mythical machine that could be tuned to have enough power to drag the moon back to Earth.
With that in mind, as another generation of the Supra reaches its end, we booked a test ride in the 2026 Toyota Supra MkV Final Edition. Firstly, to pay our respects to the outgoing model. Secondly, to examine objectively and without the noise of the internet what we will be missing out on.
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There were no Supras whatsoever from 1998 to 2019. On the other hand, there were a lot of teasers, beginning from trademarking the Supra name back in 2010. Just four years later, Toyota revealed the FT-1 concept, which was—and wasn’t—a Supra simultaneously. In September 2016, we could see a mule disguised in camo that didn’t resemble the FT-1 but was likely the future Supra model. The mule got a few more styling elements inspired by the FT-1 a few months later, in November.
There were more mule pictures taken in 2017 together with taillights photos. As the car was being driven around everywhere, one could assume it would be unveiled at Detroit’s NAIAS in 2018? No chance. In that year, there were more spy shots and even the GR Supra Racing concept was revealed, apart from a camo’d Supra charging up the hill during the Goodwood Festival of Speed. When the actual production version was revealed in January 2019, it already seemed a little bit outdated.
In any case, when it did, the fan responses came rapidly, and mostly brutal. From forum posts to subreddits to comment sections, the MkV Supra was just a rebadged BMW. That’s far from the first time that Toyota engaged in engine-swapping with other automakers. Except for some reason, this time felt different.
Possibly that’s also because, with all the cult worship the MkIV has, the odds were already stacked against any new Supra making Supra fans happy, no matter how good it might be. Or maybe it’s simply because the MkV took so long to show up, and thus suffered from its own hype. Probably all of the above.
As far as its core hardware goes, the MkV Final Edition is largely the same as the Supra launched in 2019, although it has received incremental improvements since then, including additional power and a six-speed manual transmission. In addition to that, the car comes with a carbon-fiber ducktail spoiler, 19-inch matte-black wheels, and red leather seats with red stitching inside. The GR graphics and matte black exterior color scheme are optional, and we would likely skip those; the former is rather too garish for our tastes, while the latter is simply impossible to keep clean.
On the performance side of things, we’re looking at improved camber angles on both front and rear wheels, stiffer rubber bushings on the front control arms and rear subframe mounts, chassis tuning, a reinforced front sway bar, and upgraded front brake rotors with four-piston Brembo calipers attached. There aren’t many tangible differences between the regular Supra and its Final Edition counterpart, which means that if you’re in the market for a new Supra and want to make sure that you don’t run out of them before the 2026 model year, feel free to get the standard version. The 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six with 382 hp and
Had Toyota designed it from scratch? Surely not! The price tag would then have been beyond reach, which would have formed another reason for the hive-mind rage over this beauty.
Let us put aside our rose-colored glasses, for a moment, and reflect on a review of the MkIV Supra in the Road Test section of this very magazine in its March 1993 issue. Ron Grable states: “There is no question that this car is really fast. And unlike the previous incarnation of the Supra it was none other than lightweight, quick-footed, and responsive. In addition, there were quite a few influences of the famous Dan Gurney – as many as they could fit between the lines and the lawyers. But there is also much to enjoy driving the car, which stands out among others in its responsiveness and handling. In particular, the Oh-Oh-My-Dear-I-Love-It power rush and the precise shifting of the six-speed transmission. Unexpectedly, the car proved to be attractive visually as well. As it surprised me that the creators would make some attempt to repeat the melted candy-bar style of their famous predecessor the Celica, stuffed with steroids. But no, they didn’t, and that resulted in an accomplished modern
Other than that one aspect, it reads like a review of the MkV Supra. The MkIV, once it reached middle age, gained a reputation as a tuner car that would be cemented into the annals of automotive history through a series of films that would later venture into space, but when looking at the cars themselves, it seems like the MkV is closer to the MkIV than many people think.
We at least know that there will be another generation of Supra down the road, we just don’t know when. But it’s almost guaranteed that by the time it comes out, the market will have shifted in such a way that having a manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive, and an un-electrified straight-six engine will no longer be a guarantee. Sick of sports cars without any character? The MkV Supra had it in spades.
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The problem with the MkV isn’t that it’s leaving us; all cars leave us eventually. It’s that it was a great car that wasn’t afforded the chance it should have been given. It became a prisoner of expectation that refused to recognize its execution. If you had enough foresight to look past the naysayers and pick up the
| 2026 Toyota Supra MkV Final Edition Specifications | |
| BASE PRICE | $69,745 |
| LAYOUT | Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe |
| ENGINE | 3.0L/382-hp/368-lb-ft turbo DOHC 24-valve I-6 |
| TRANSMISSION | 6-speed manual |
| CURB WEIGHT | 3,389 lb |
| WHEELBASE | 97.2 in |
| L x W x H | 172.5 x 73.0 x 50.9 in |
| 0–60 MPH | 4.2 sec (mfr est) |
| EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON | 19/26/21 mpg (est) |
| EPA RANGE, COMB | 288 miles |
| ON SALE | Now |
