A Five-Generation Sprint Through Supra History
The Toyota Supra has never been just one car. Over five generations, it has transformed from a plush Celica derivative into a low-slung, turbocharged performance icon, and finally into a machine developed with BMW. Through every era, the stopwatch has told part of the story. A 0-to-60-mph run is not the only measure of a sports coupe, but it offers a simple way to trace how far Toyota pushed the Supra over nearly five decades.
According to Jalopnik's ranking, the results follow a familiar pattern: newer Supras are quicker than older ones. The fifth and latest generation is the fastest of the bunch, while the original Celica Supra sits at the bottom of the list. The more interesting question is not just which Supra wins the sprint, but how much progress the nameplate made between its 1970s debut and its modern BMW-assisted rebirth.
The Ranking at a Glance
Only one generation's acceleration is detailed in the source material, but the overall order is clear enough. The Supra's five generations line up almost exactly as chronology would suggest, with each successive era improving on the last. That means the original A40 is the slowest, and the current fifth-generation car is the quickest.
- First generation: The A40 Celica Supra, a heavier and more luxurious Celica variant, is the slowest Supra by 0-60.
- Second generation: A step forward from the original, part of the Supra's gradual shift toward stronger performance.
- Third generation: Quicker than its predecessors as Toyota continued to refine the formula.
- Fourth generation: Faster still, bridging the gap between the classic Supra era and the modern revival.
- Fifth generation: The BMW-collaboration model is the fastest Supra yet.
That ranking is built on the source's central observation: the newer generations are quicker than those that came before them. Exact times for the middle generations are not provided, but the direction of travel is not in doubt. The Supra's 0-60 performance improved as the car evolved.
The Origin: A Celica in Supra Clothing
From Celica XX to the A40
The Supra story begins in April 1978, when Toyota revealed the Celica XX in Japan. It was a two-door coupe that started life as a glorified Celica, but Toyota gave it grand-touring ambitions. The cabin was more luxurious, with available leather upholstery and extra sound deadening. It was not a stripped-down track special. It was a comfortable, long-legged coupe with an inline-six engine.
The car reached the United States the following year as the Celica Supra, known internally as the A40. In Japan, buyers could choose between 2.0-liter and 2.6-liter engines. In America, only the larger engine was offered. That inline-six was the key differentiator from the regular Celica, and it gave the Supra a more sophisticated character than its sibling.
Toyota also made the Supra version wider and longer than the standard Celica, especially at the front. The extra sheet metal helped accommodate the larger powerplant. The A40 came with four-wheel disc brakes on most grades, plus a choice of a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic. It was an early example of Toyota blending comfort, technology, and performance.
The First 0-to-60 Benchmark
Under the hood, the 2.6-liter engine produced 110 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque. That may sound modest today, but the engine was notable for another reason: it was Toyota's first engine with electronic fuel injection. In the hands of Car and Driver, the Celica Supra needed 11.2 seconds to reach 60 mph. A section header in the source rounds that figure to 10.2 seconds, creating a small discrepancy, but either way the original Supra is clearly the slowest of the five generations.
That slowest ranking is not an insult. The A40 was designed in a different era, with different priorities. It was a grand tourer first, and its inline-six was about smoothness and prestige as much as outright speed. The 0-60 time reflects the technology and expectations of the late 1970s, not a lack of ambition.
How the Supra Got Faster
The Supra's evolution is a case study in how sports coupes changed over the decades. The original car was a luxurious Celica variant. By the fifth generation, the Supra had become a menacing, curvaceous ball of turbocharged fury, according to the source's colorful description. Its 0-to-60 sprint can be completed in about the time it takes to read a sentence, a dramatic contrast to the A40's 11.2-second run.
The fifth-generation Supra is also the most controversial among purists because it was produced in collaboration with BMW. That partnership gave the car a different engineering background from its predecessors, but it did not stop the Supra from becoming the quickest version yet. The latest model is the fastest of all the Supra generations, and it represents the biggest leap in the nameplate's performance story.
The middle generations filled the gap. Each one built on the last, adding power, refinement, and capability. The source does not provide individual acceleration figures for every model, but it makes clear that the progression was steady. The Supra did not jump from slow grand tourer to turbocharged missile overnight. It improved generation by generation.
What 0-to-60 Does and Does Not Tell Us
The 0-to-60 metric is useful because it is simple, repeatable, and easy to compare. It also has limits. The source notes that the Supra generations differ in more than just engine output. Each era brought its own design language, chassis setup, transmission options, and market context. The A40's four-wheel disc brakes and available five-speed manual were notable for their time. Later Supras had to meet different emissions rules, safety standards, and customer expectations.
Acceleration times also depend on conditions. A magazine test is not the same as an owner's experience. Tires, temperature, altitude, and surface all matter. So while the ranking is straightforward, it should be read as a guide rather than a definitive judgment of each Supra's place in history. The original car's 11.2-second run belongs to a different world than the fifth-generation car's modern turbocharged performance.
Still, the trend is meaningful. It shows how far automotive engineering has advanced, and how Toyota's priorities shifted. The Supra started as a comfortable cruiser with a straight-six. It became a performance flagship. The stopwatch captures that transformation in a single number.
The Next Chapter: A 50th Anniversary and a Possible Revival
The Supra nameplate celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2028. That milestone will inevitably spark speculation about what comes next. Toyota has shown renewed focus on high-performance cars, including the inbound Toyota GR GT supercar. If the company decides to revive the Supra nameplate again, the source suggests it would likely outrank all previous Supras in the 0-to-60 metric.
That is not a confirmation of a new Supra. It is a reasonable prediction based on the direction of the brand and the march of technology. A future Supra would have to meet modern performance standards, and those standards are far higher than they were in 1978. A hybrid, electric, or heavily turbocharged successor could easily beat the current fifth-generation car.
For now, the ranking stands. The original A40 is the slowest Supra, the fifth-generation BMW-collaboration model is the fastest, and the generations in between form a steady climb toward modern performance. Nearly five decades after the Celica XX debuted, the Supra remains a benchmark for how a Japanese sports coupe can evolve and how much can change between one generation and the next.
Final Takeaways
- The Toyota Supra has gone through five generations, from a Celica-based grand tourer to a BMW-assisted sports car.
- The newest fifth-generation Supra is the fastest by 0-60, while the first-generation A40 is the slowest.
- The A40 launched in Japan in April 1978 as the Celica XX and arrived in the U.S. in 1979 as the Celica Supra.
- Its 2.6-liter inline-six made 110 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque, with Car and Driver recording an 11.2-second 0-60 time; a section header says 10.2 seconds.
- The Supra's 50th anniversary arrives in 2028, and Toyota's performance focus, including the GR GT supercar, leaves the door open for a future revival that could be quicker than any Supra before it.
This article is based on reporting by Jalopnik. Read the original article.
Originally published on jalopnik.com
