SVHO
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 9, 2018
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 97
- Reaction score
- 134
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Car(s)
- 2016 MX5 ND, 2019 Acura RDX
NC looks too happy.Only reason i didn't like it was because it was ditching the NB aesthetic
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NC looks too happy.Only reason i didn't like it was because it was ditching the NB aesthetic
If only the taillights looked betterLove the 4dr M3s.. they are sexy and the V8 is marvelous sounding
can you see if I can go drive it tooI've ridden in the Griffon Concept and it's badass; I'll have to see if I can go drive the 14R60
How many of your test cars were automatics?So, I spent a couple days in my buddy's Cayman GT4 while I was in California; and holy shit was it good! The gearing is a slight annoyance because a third gear pull puts you into the 110mph range, but man oh man was it a joy to rev out. That flat-6 makes a noise that you lay awake thinking about at night, it's that good. Balance was superb, with the rear always ready to come around to meet you on corner exit. Certainly one of the best cars I've ever driven.
Here's the thing though, I spent a fair few miles jumping between the GT4, a slightly tuned 135is, and my BRZ on the canyons (almost 2k miles total actually ), and while each car is very distinctive in its feel, the opportunity for a Supra to be a "greatest hits" version of the 3 cars is extremely tantalizing. The BRZ is very raw, certainly in the way I have it set up. Solid/poly bushings everywhere, solid steering rack mounts, Ohlins suspension, Winmax W5 track pads, etc. It's extremely neutral in balance, has gobs of grip on a 255 square setup, and has a very darty front end with how I aligned it. The Cayman offers most of that (less turn in response perhaps), but at a much higher level, all while being extremely refined. Quiet when it needs to be, calm and easy to drive at light loads, but an absolute menace when you want to thrash it. The limits were very high though, and it always felt like the car wasn't really usable on the street, esp with the long gearing. The 1-series ended up being the surprise of the group. It was calm and quiet, like one would expect, but when you really got into it, the motor made fantastic torque and really pulled well both down low and up top. It was surprisingly balanced with a little bit of safety understeer. It was def reminiscent of older BMWs, and surprisingly offered a lot of what the 1M offered, without being an M car. The docility around town was the biggest thing; it was dead simple to drive. Sadly, I felt like I was sitting too high and the controls were a little numb, but I suppose that's to be expected from a 1-series that's been hotted up by BMW.
I pondered for a while about the MKV after all this driving. I felt like maybe I should just skip it and save up for a GT4, or perhaps even a 718 GT4 whenever it came out. But GT4s nowadays go for 100k+, which is essentially 2x the money and I would be poor for a very long time lol. Then I thought about the idea that the Supra could very well be borrowing the highlights from each of these cars, while minimizing each cars drawbacks. More refined than the BRZ, but with as good feel and balance. As capable of a chassis as the Cayman, but without the price tag, all while having lower limits that are more exploitable on the street. And finally, as effortlessly torquey and smooth as the BMW, but without feeling like a commuter 1-series or 2-series. Now that is something that sounds abso-freaking-lutely like something I would throw 50, 60, even 70k at, but perhaps it's wishful thinking. Something tells me though that a lot of Toyota engineers drove the same 3 cars, or similar equivalents, while they were coming up with the idea of the MKV, and that makes me excited. The one thing that I didn't really focus on any of those cars were the specs (which are wildly different between the 3 cars). I wanted the driving experience to tell me everything I needed to know, and that absolutely is what they did. As such, I'm going to put the MKV specs wayyy in the back of my head going forward, as they just can't tell me what I actually want to know.
Only time will tell how the MKV Supra actually drives, but after really thrashing a few of the cars with which the MKV Supra seems to have some shared "DNA", I am more optimistic than ever.
I'm glad you mentioned that, because I forgot to include that!How many of your test cars were automatics?
I'm with you. It's going to be extremely hard to get my money with an auto, but I think it will be an awesome car either way, which is why I'm still here.I'm glad you mentioned that, because I forgot to include that!
They were all manual, and it would have been an absolute travesty if any of them were auto. The Supra being auto only is no doubt it's biggest vice currently. My hope is that it's the only vice, and somehow isn't a deal breaker, but that's a tough thing to overcome for sure.
I am of the tribe that will take a shitty manual over a fantastic auto every day of the week, no matter how illogical it seems.