TOYOTA

Supra A40

The Toyota Supra A40 was launched in April 1978 in Japan as the Celica XX, and exported from January 1979 as the Celica Supra, marking the birth of a nameplate that would become a Japanese performance legend. Toyota's goal was to take on the hugely successful Datsun Z-cars in the grand-tourer market, and to do so it took the second-generation Celica and stretched it: the Toyota Supra A40 sat on a wheelbase lengthened by around 130 mm and a nose extended to make room for a smooth inline-six engine in place of the Celica's four-cylinders. That six-cylinder layout defined the Supra from the very beginning and would remain its signature for decades. The Toyota Supra A40 was also a technological showcase for Toyota, being among the first of the company's models to feature electronic fuel injection, and it came generously equipped with power steering, power windows and a plush interior aimed at refined high-speed cruising rather than outright aggression. Power came from the M-series and later 5M-E six-cylinder engines, giving relaxed, torquey performance suited to long-distance touring. Although it lived in the shadow of the Celica it was based on, and was often confused with it, the first-generation Toyota Supra A40 laid the foundations for the A60, A70 and the iconic A80 that followed. With only 25,113 examples built in its short three-year run, the original Toyota Supra A40 is a rare and increasingly appreciated piece of Supra history.