One week from now, the doors to Japan’s biggest tuning show will open. Exactly what we’ll find inside still remains to be seen, but it’s pretty safe to assume that Tokyo Auto Salon 2020 will go down in history as the year of the Supra.
If you caught any SEMA 2019 coverage, you’ll know that it was A90 overload, but Japan may actually top it – at least if HKS’s own show car selection is anything to go by.
A few days before 2019 drew to an end, Ron and I were invited to the tuning giant’s HQ at the foot of Mt. Fuji for a preview of the three Supras HKS will display at the show.
It starts off with this black street-tuned build, which runs a new version of the Yokohama Advan Racing GT wheel – made especially for the A90 – that features more concaved spokes for increased brake caliper clearance.
The next Supra is one we’ve seen before – HKS’s drift exhibition build that Nobutero Taniguichi drove at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last summer. Those with an eye for detail might notice that the car has traded its originally-fitted Pandem kit in favor of a new HKS A90 wide-body setup that features some very RWB-esque rear fender spoilers.
The kit goes on sale this month with a $7,000 price tag, or $10,000 if you opt to include the wild GT wing assembly. The latter includes complex wing stays that sprout out from the rear bumper and even tilt backwards to allow the rear hatch to be opened.
Since it’s hard to see what the kit actually looks like on a black race car sporting an iconic multi-color livery, HKS has also put together a street-going version which shows off the aero conversion’s lines a little better.
And with a full 90mm bump in width front and rear, it really transforms the A90’s appearance.
This TAS show car sits on Yokohama Advan Racing R6 wheels, but at the time of our shoot it was still waiting for a set of shiny new Endless brake calipers to be fitted.
While the addition of the optional GT wing will give the Supra a hefty dose of aggression, the more subtle extension that enhances that already prominent hatch spoiler section makes the whole ensemble look and feel more balanced.
In the coming days we’ll have a more detailed feature on each of these cars, but I just wanted to share this first bunch of modified JDM A90s to set the tone for what will likely be a very Supra-centric month.
Dino Dalle Carbonare
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dino@speedhunters.com
I always feels like this HKS kit for GR Supra looks quite a lot like Pandem kit.
It may share the same designer maybe...
Damn. That's probably the best looking kit going for the DB!
It's definitely will be a total Supra domination. Hoping to see Smokey Nagata recreating the top secret supra in A90 form. Also long lost tuners such as Abflug. Max Orido should have his Ridox version of the A90
Top Secret has been turning its booth into a used car lot for the last few years, a way to sell off old demo cars and help customers sell theirs to wealthy visiting foreigners. It's sad to see as they never really build show cars for TAS any more. It would be sad to see if they didn't have a Supra though. Let's not forget that deliveries of the A90 in Japan started in October so not all tuning shops got theirs yet
Its pretty wild that a YouTuber made the best looking/flowing wide body for the A90...
The reference fails me. Care to elaborate?
I think he's referring to the Streethunter widebody kit by TJ Hunt.
Which was revealed at SEMA but was not mentioned by Speedhunters in the SEMA Coverage (while there was an entire article just for all the new Supras at SEMA)
I think the best mod I've seen for this car has been this guy that put a third pedal and a random metal rod in the middle???
Bah. He's just creating more work for himself. Must not have a mind for efficiency.
Hey, look at that, the Hipermaxx Evo ! Kinda sad to see that it's just sitting there and collecting dust. What's up with livey, wasn't the car red ?
The livery happened at the same time of the bio fuel conversion
Any news of that evo in the corner? Isnt it running on biofuel now? I believe that was HKS old red and black time attack evo.
Yeah it was converted to bio fuel. Not sure what the purpose it serves now, it's pretty much retired.
That white and red color combo looks soooo good
gotta say, HKS is bringing the big guns this year. especially with that beautiful livery on the drift car.
Yeah they know how to kill it!
The Gr Yaris is what I'm looking forward to. Surprised no body has mentioned it yet
Maybe we'll see something at TAS. I don't even know if that car is coming to Japan. Japanese dudes don't want cars like these any more, they prefer mobile phones, man-bags and manga cafes.
Is that a chopped carbon roof on the white Supra?
I'll show you in the full feature of the car
So, basically SEMA all over again...
... with an all-important JDM twist
Any chance one of you guys could get more details from Honda themselves on the S2000 20th Ann celebration, whether it is just remembering a modern classic or if they have plans to bring us a new model?
We will be talking to them on Friday. Don't get your hopes up, Japanese manufacturers have been playing the conservative flag for the better part of 30 years to the point that they have made themselves rather boring.
We definitely need more features of the GR Supra here on Speedhunters
It is taking the aftermarket scene by storm!
We have a few coming pre TAS. And a lot after I'm sure!
This just makes me love the GR Supra even more
Heck it's even my dream car
Hopefully when Toyota gives the GR Supra a manual transmission I'll definitely get one
Really hope they will!
I finally got an opportunity to drive one of these and it's the most underwhelming car I've ever been in. You can very much tell they are a Z4 underneath and the interior feels incredibly cheap for the price. Sure, the aftermarket will tune them and make them better, but as a base it's a very unimpressive car.
If this car started with 480+bhp from the factory, manual transmission and a better interior I would be totally sold.
The A80 Turbo was USD$38,000 when new in 1993. Adjusted for inflation, that's almost USD$68,000 today. Hop in the most factory-fresh example of an A80 you can find and tell me if it's worth up to $17,000 more than an A90 (the most expensive of which being about USD$56-57,000 depending on paint).
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a25695/drive-flashback-1993-toyota-supra-turbo/
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a25868740/toyota-supra-price-2020/
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1993?amount=38000
I do agree it's a tad overpriced but that's more a sign of Japanese manufacturers trying to catch up with European manufacturers on pricing more than anything. And by this I'm specifically talking about the market here in Japan. As for underwhelming, I found it a fun drive, under powered for sure, but far from dull.
Waiting to see how many companies in Japan perform engine swaps on it.
They started on that 7 months before the Supra was even on sale in Japan lol But pre-production cars aside, I'd saw we'll see a lot of that happening, far easier than attempting to R&D parts for the B58 and figure out how to fiddle with the complex modern-day electronics
Well in America, BMW cars lose their value very fast after their factory warranty is done. I wonder if it will be the case for the A90 as well after 4-5 years. I like the potential for the body. These kits look great. Although I wish it was a little longer like the concept it is based off of.
I'd love to see a lap competition of just Supras, new and old. They should revive some JGTC cars.
speedhunters.com is a seriously great site to feed my car addiction.