Toyota Celica / Supra

The Toyota Supra arrived in its fourth and most celebrated generation just as the market for expensive Japanese sports cars was collapsing in the early 1990s. Sales settled at just 2,000 to 3,000 units per year, making the Supra nearly as rare as some European exotics. Low production volume was not all the Supra Turbo had in common with those pricey Europeans, either. It performed like one, too.

Originally an upgraded variant of the Celica sporty coupe, the Supra became its own distinct rear-drive model when the Celica switched to front-wheel drive for 1986. That third-generation Supra settled comfortably into the role of a capable 2+2 grand tourer and lasted through 1992. For 1993, the Supra was reborn as a costlier, more powerful machine. Styling, done in Japan, was rounded and aggressive, with design cues that nodded to the Ferrari F40 in the grille opening and bodyside intakes. A large rear spoiler was a $420 option on the Turbo model, said to generate 66 pounds of downforce at 90 mph.

Although still a sizable sports car, the new Supra was smaller than its predecessor, with 1.8 inches less wheelbase and 4.2 inches less overall length. Toyota obsessed over weight reduction, even specifying hollow-fiber carpeting and rejecting dual exhaust tips to save ounces. The Supra rode a shortened, modified Lexus SC300 platform and shared the luxury coupe's inline-six engine. Base models produced 220 horsepower, while the Turbo version used a sequential twin-turbocharger setup, with one turbo providing low-rpm boost and a second spooling up above 4,500 rpm, together producing 320 horsepower, an impressive 106.8 horsepower per liter.

The cabin was somewhat austere for the price, and the rear seats were little more than parcel shelves, but everything else was in place: dual airbags, traction control, a six-speed Getrag manual gearbox, and a removable aluminum roof panel. The well-sorted suspension and magnificent ABS disc brakes kept the car composed even during aggressive driving. Contemporary comparison tests placed the Supra Turbo among the world's elite. It was chosen over the Mazda RX-7, Nissan 300ZX Turbo, and Porsche 968 in one notable evaluation, and in another test it proved grippier in corners, faster through the slalom, and shorter-stopping than cars costing two to four times as much.

The fourth-generation Supra remains one of the most respected sports cars of the 1990s, and its turbocharged inline-six generates substantial heat that demands a capable cooling system. Griffin Thermal Products builds exact-fit aluminum radiators for Toyota Celicas and Supras, delivering the cooling performance these high-performance Japanese sports cars deserve.