The Toyota Supra is one of the most popular cars you see at tuner car shows and on the street, partly because of its role in pop culture and partly because of its performance capabilities and potential. Overall, the Toyota Supra became more popular than the brand may have originally anticipated, and none of us are complaining — except maybe about how the popularity of the car has kept the value and price up even decades later. The Supra was always designed to be something special, and with its Latin-based namesake, it did exactly what Toyota had hoped that it would.

The Toyota Supra name

If you refer to Toyota, you may notice that many of the model names have more meaning than you think. The MR2, for example, stands for mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, 2 seater — and while that model name is somewhat practical, other Toyota model names have a bit more meaning. The Prius, for example, got its name from the Latin word for “to go before,” and it isn’t that far off from the Toyota Supra. The Supra also got its name from a Latin root, and in Latin, the Toyota Supra means “to surpass” or “to go beyond,” which is exactly what the manufacturers aimed to do with this iconic car.

The Toyota Supra in pop culture

The Toyota Supra was designed to go beyond in performance and styling, but the car’s popularity was really highlighted by its starring role in the Fast and Furious franchise. The movies didn’t just show off the car’s styling as you see in movies like James Bond, which has overexaggerated the abilities of cars like the Lotus Esprit. The Toyota Supra, on the other hand, was highlighted for its styling and capable 2JZ engine that has established itself as a staple in the car community. While it was the most popular in the first movies that we released over a decade ago, the car is still popular, and the Fast and Furious franchise changed car shows forever.

The comeback of the classics

While it was cut from production for some time, the Toyota Supra was brought back into production only a few years ago, with a new design that has been somewhat controversial. The new Supra features a BMW drivetrain — which has lead to all of the annoying jokes about the new Toyota Supra actually just being a fancy BMW Z4 M40i but has distinct styling and impressive performance nonetheless. Regardless of any negative opinions, the car was a nostalgic throwback that has been popular — and it isn’t that uncommon to see them at car shows or meets. It no longer offers the 2JZ engine, but if YouTube history has taught us anything, it’s only a matter of time before a content creator makes that happen.