In January, we took the Toyota GR Toyota Supra on an epic journey. We wanted to learn all about Toyota’s new GAZOO Racing performance brand, and a road trip to Rallye Monte Carlo seemed like the perfect justification.
With former rally driver and FIA World Rallycross commentator Andrew Coley at the wheel, we visited the historic pitlane at Reims, conquered the snowy passes of the Hautes-Alpes, went behind-the-scenes with Toyota GAZOO Racing at Rallye Monte Carlo, and set the style in the heart of glamorous Monaco.
You can watch the highlights of our journey here.
Find out more about the Toyota GR Supra at toyota.co.uk/supra
Styling it out in Reims
Toyota’s dramatic fifth generation re-imagining of its sportscar icon was ideal for this trip. A two-seat, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive ‘grand tourer’, it boasts the style to turn heads on the autoroute and the Riviera, with tight confidence-inspiring handling and responsive power that thrill on tight, vertiginous, winding Alpine roads.
Inside there’s room for a weekend’s luggage, behind a two-seat cabin that is as cossetting and practical on long journeys as it is driver-focused in the twisty bits. Perfect for a long trip across Europe.
Pulling into the iconic classic 1960s pitlane at Reims after our first 100 miles of French roads, we had a chance to admire the GR Supra’s powerfully modern take on classically pure sportscar style.
Its low-slung profile – a long bonnet, blending into a pushed-back two-seat cabin with a double-bubble roof – is pure 2000GT. The distinctive grille evokes classic Supra styling, while the muscular haunches that frame imposing 19” forged alloys blend into a sharp-edged modern rear.
Powering down the autoroute
Once back on the road, the 3.0-litre straight six settled down nicely at pace. When we did need to pass the French lorries that tend to linger on the inside lane of the autoroute, the twin-scroll turbo delivered incredibly direct response from low rpm at an impressive rate.
The driver-focused cockpit (inspired by the cocoon of single-seater race cars) felt incredibly cosseting with its race-inspired leather sports seats – especially when the heated seats and dual-zone automatic air conditioning were cranked up to provide Mediterranean warmth, compared to the cold January air outside. It almost seemed a shame to open the windows for the péage toll booths.
Equally, the low, slim horizontal dashboard provided the perfect view of the road ahead, with the 8.8-inch high-definition digital dashboard, 8.8-inch central multimedia display and optional head-up display giving us access to all the info we needed.
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