See The Toyota Supra Blast Beyond Its Official Top Speed

The speedo slams into 163 MPH and begs for more.

By Christopher Smith, Motor1.com

A while back we saw a similar speedometer-focused video of the Toyota Supra sprinting its way to 124 mph (200 km/h), which is well under the 155-mph (249-km/h) electronic speed limiter set by the factory. This new video from YouTube channel L’argus isn’t quite as conservative – the driver keeps the skinny pedal planted until that invisible top speed barrier is hit, and then breached. And you know what? It sure doesn’t take very long for a car that’s supposed to have 335 horsepower (250 kilowatts). More on that in a bit.

Super Supra:

We don’t know details of the run such as location, altitude, or weather conditions, nor can we technically confirm this an actual speed run as opposed to a car sitting stationary on a dyno. We’re 99.9 percent confident this is the real deal, however, as there are several moments where shadows blast across the Supra’s digital instrument cluster. Also, the acceleration seems to slow as we’d expect toward the far end of the spectrum, though honestly, it doesn’t slow by much.

The car goes from a standstill to an indicated 163 mph (263 km/h) – a few clicks over its official top speed – in just 30 seconds. The Supra’s boosted 3.0-liter inline six pulls up at around 6,500 RPM with the transmission in sixth gear, but the mill has enough gumption to keep the speed limiter pegged in both seventh and eighth gear. Considering that, as well as the steady acceleration that was still occurring before the electronic nanny kicked in, we can easily see a stock Supra going much faster. 180 mph anyone?

Sandbagging Supra?

That adds more fuel to the debate on whether Toyota is sandbagging the A90 Supra’s horsepower rating. We already know the BMW-sourced I6 engine is capable of more – it makes 382 hp (285 kW) in the Z4, and a recent dyno test by Car and Driver on a media vehicle returned 339 hp (253 kW) at the rear wheels. Manufacturer power ratings are always established at the crankshaft, which means the Supra might have over 400 hp once driveline power losses are figured in. On the flip side, errors in dyno figures are certainly possible, and being a media vehicle it’s also possible Toyota tossed in a ringer to impress us journalists.

In any case, the new Supra is plenty fast.