It has been three years since the fifth-gen Toyota Supra (A90) hit the market, but purists never stopped comparing it against its particularly successful predecessor, the A80. Top Gear decided to address the matter of ‘which is better’ once and for all, although you may or may not find the means adequate.
The team put up a completely stock A90 Supra against a moderately tuned fourth-gen model. The new coupe came equipped with a 3.0-liter BMW inline-six rated at its standard 340 PS (335 hp / 250 kW) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. Conveying the torque to the rear wheels is an eight-speed automatic transmission. The coupe tips the scales at 1,495 kilos (3,300 lbs).
To give the rival Mk4 Supra a fair chance, its engine was boosted to a superior 527 PS (520 hp / 388 kW) and 639 Nm (471 lb-ft) of torque. The drive is on the rear axle, but the four-speed automatic transmission is rather outdated and slow in comparison. That, and the A80 weighs 90 kg (200 lbs) more than the new coupe.
In short, we expected this to be one of those videos where a mildly tuned classic has no trouble outperforming the modern competition. It turned out completely different, with the older Supra coming to the end of the test track more than 10 seconds behind its rival.