900 HP Mk IV Supra Takes On 760 HP Mk V Model in a Generational Hall of Fame Battle

What is not debatable, however, is the reason behind all the clout it gathered from the car community. The fourth generation of the Toyota Supra is the one that's mainly responsible for generating the hype around this hall-of-fame JDM badge.

And it deserves a fair share of praise, as the car comes from an era where quality was the most essential part of car design. And the engineers behind the Supra took that idea as seriously as humanly possible. The result of that approach was an overengineered car capable of handling heaps of tunning with no need to open the engine block.

This is what caused the initial hype around the car, similar to why most JDM cars of that era became popular. But being a tuner's wet dream was later combined with the car's appearance in the Fast and Furious franchise, which brought an entirely new wave of popularity with the next generation of enthusiasts.

So then, it's easy to see why the Mk IV Supra is so highly praised. And also why the launch of the Mk V was surrounded by skepticism from the fans who did not take well to BMW's involvement in the project. But time has passed, and the new generation has started to grow among fans thanks to its good factory performance and, similarly, great ability to handle tuning.

And now we get to see the new Supra clash with its illustrious predecessor out on track in a battle of the ages. And it's a relatively close race, at least on paper, seeing as there's only around a 60-hp per ton difference between the two cars.

Starting with the Mk IV, let's look at their performance figures. It puts out roughly 900 hp (912 ps) from its fully built and bored 3.4-liter 2JZ engine. Of course, the list of upgrades goes on with mods like a large turbo, improved fuel injection, better intake and exhaust, upgraded cams, and an ECU tune. However, that power goes to the rear wheels through a six-speed LSD-equipped manual gearbox.

Up against this beast stands an Mk V GR Supra, equipped with an unopened B58 inline-six capable of 760 hp (770 ps). This car also enjoys heaps of modifications, although somewhat tamer compared to its rival. One advantage it does have, however, is the gearbox. This time around, it's an LSD-equipped eight-speed ZF torque-converter automatic.

This difference should compensate for the power deficit, at least in the drag race, as the rolling race is usually decided purely on power when cars are this similar. And just as expected, the more powerful MK IV Supra wins the rolling race by around three car lengths, with the newer model around a second slower to accelerate from 62 to 124 mph (100-200 kph).

The drag race was where the newer Supra, with its modern technology, dominated, winning all three runs. The Mk IV just could not handle the consistency and smoothness of the launches and gear changes of the Mk V GR Supra.

The final results showed that the fourth generation was half a second slower over the quarter mile than the new Supra, although it was rapidly gaining by the end of the runs. Overall, this race goes to illustrate just why people love seeing heavily modified Mk IVs so much.