Toyota Supra Starring in “The Burnout That Keeps on Giving”

Things like drifting have been brought to the public’s eye by Ken Block’s videos and games such as Need for Speed Underground, but the practice itself has been around for much longer, even though it wasn’t exactly a discipline in itself. After the first driver lost control of the car and skidded away but managed not to hit anything, he found it enjoyable and tried to replicate the event.

He might have hit something the second time around, but that’s irrelevant, as he had already gotten a taste for it. But the place where anything was OK as long as it helped you go faster were motorsport competitions. These drivers were risking their lives each and every day, and so they became nothing short of heroes. And if your hero takes a hairpin turn with the handbrake, you’ll be damned if you don't do it the same on the road.

The clip below isn’t new, but it isn’t that old either. In fact, we know exactly when it was filmed: it’s May 22, 2003. At around 7:06 PM (why the hell is it dark already at 7 PM in May?), to be even more precise. For some reason, import cars were the preferred weapon of choice for those who wanted to have a little illegal fun, be it drifting, drag racing or turning the rear axle into a smoke factory via a burnout.

We’ve seen our share of burnouts, some of them ending with the car catching fire because of all the hot rubber on the ground, but this one has something special. Even though it’s less than 13 years old, you feel like it’s... primordial. It’s raw, it's simple, it’s brutal, it’s long, and it’s beautiful. And it also uses a stock car - a Toyota Supra from the ’80s, the model before the one that brought real fame to the Supra name.

Sure, burnouts can be done for a number of reasons - mostly for warming up the tires before a drag race. But this one is done just for the sake of it. It’s pure tire shredding, and it’s lovely. In fact, it’s so eloquent that a tire disposal company chose it to advertise their activity. That says something.