Even the statistics have shown that Toyota is one of the most prolific automakers this year, with the second quarter of the year occupied by seven all-new product presentations, according to JATO Dynamics. Alas, this time around, we are not talking about something new, even though it looks fresher than the mint – a stunning teal dream of a spicy Toyota GR Supra.
The Japanese carmaker has focused on some mighty superstar-like introductions this year, such as the all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma mid-size pickup truck or the 2024 Lexus GX 550, the third generation of the specialized off-road luxury SUV. Plus, there were many crossovers and even some passenger cars. But as far as the quarter-mile dragstrip enthusiasts are concerned, none of them mattered too much, frankly.
So, we are back to the eternal sports car of the family – the current fifth-generation GR Supra sports coupe. And it is all courtesy of the videographer behind the Wheels Plus channel on YouTube, who is a big fan of MRP (aka 'Thunder by the River), and never misses a chance to see the local brawls, even if they belong into the 'import vs. import' category like these ones we are about to see.
Mission Raceway Park is the pearl auto racing facility of British Columbia, Canada – but even its NHRA-sanctioned quarter-mile dragstrip with its impeccable prepped surface cannot do much about folks running 'fool's errands' rather than doing what they were supposed to – aka racing. Initially, the latest video from the channel starts like a charm with the general POV of a blue-and-chrome Audi RS 4 sedan that looks like it's about to be overwhelmed by the stunning teal-and-black Toyota GR Supra sitting to its right in the 'Farmer Lane.' Oh, that's a joke the driver is about to regret dearly, as it turns out.
Initially, everything looks like a brawl for the ages – but only before the light turns green and the GR Supra driver delivers a wheelspin to remember until the end of the day. Still, it shoots out first in the quest for glory – only for the relaxed RS 4 to catch up to it in no time and ultimately win the race with 11.3s to 13.65s ETs. In the end, it turns out the GR Supra's trap speed was also laughable – 102 mph (164 kph) doesn't compare well to Audi's 121 mph (195 kph), right?
Well, we certainly hoped the Toyota driver had a momentary lapse of knowledge, and since the next skirmish was against the legendary R35 Nissan GT-R, we imagined he actually knew what he was doing behind the wheel. Surprise, surprise, he didn't! At least not during the second race, that is. That one is the messiest we had seen yet at MRP, where both drivers were still aligning their cars to the start line when the green light came out, and both were caught by surprise and started the race whenever it suited them – like sometimes never, for the GT-R. Yeah, this one went for the GR Supra with 12.91s and 118 mph (190 mph), but it was hardly a challenge.
In conclusion, I would still be LOL-ing out around the office if I weren't busy crying about the fact that these amateurish drivers ultimately sent my expectations down the drain. And the races were so promising when you think about it – a gorgeous teal-black GR Supra with a plane wing attached to its back duking it out with the serious and seriously fast Audi RS 4 and then sealing the quarter-mile dragstrip legacy with a kiss on the ET cheek of an iconic Nissan GT-R. And in the end, it turned out that almost everyone had no clue what they were doing there, including the race starter. Oh, well, we did talk on numerous occasions about expecting the unexpected, right? That's one case where all misconceptions were pretty far off from the ironical truth!
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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