Fans liked the 500-horsepower throwback Toyota GR Supra Heritage Edition from SEMA 2019 so much that Toyota’s back at it again with another nod to the Supra’s beloved fourth generation for SEMA’s now-virtual 2020 show, SEMA360. This is the Toyota GR Supra Sport Top, a targa version of the GR Supra Heritage Edition Toyota. It’s Toyota’s build for SEMA360, and all we want to know is, when are they going to finally put this into production?
The fourth-generation Supra is the legendary car that most people think of when you say “Supra.” It appeared in the Fast and Furious films and was an infinitely tunable drag strip hero at the height of import tuner mania.
Last year’s GR Supra Heritage Edition took the current fifth-gen GR Supra and added some key visual cues back to the last Supra, including more rounded taillights, a headlight pattern that calls back to the MKIV’s, and that iconic basket-handle spoiler. It wasn’t just all for show, as a tuned engine, modified stock turbo and tweaked ECU boosted it up to 500 hp. Bigger Brembo monobloc brakes, HRE P107SC wheels shod with Toyo Proxes R888 itres, and a Tein adjustable coilover suspension helped handle that extra power.
This year’s GR Supra Sport Top carried over the go-fast-and-look-rad mods of the Heritage Edition and added a key element that fans missed from the fourth-gen: the ability to let a bit of fresh air in though a T-top. Of course, as Toyota explained in a video about the making of the Sport Top, this was a bit more difficult than merely taking a sawzall to the roof.
The targa roof took a big chunk out of the GR Supra’s structure, and because the previous Supra featured a true targa roof without a T-top-style center bar for rigidity, they wanted the new version to be completely openable as well.
Instead, to keep the GR Supra from folding in on itself at the new roof opening, Toyota engineers shored up large sections of the fifth-gen’s frame underneath the car, going from the engine bay all the way back to the tub—all of which fit under the stock underbody panels. They also strengthened the outer body structures of the roof so it would be a bit more sturdy with or without the central panel in.
They also wanted this concept to be functional—as in, the new roof had to pop in and out easily, and therefore, merely plopping the cut-out section back onto the car wasn’t an option. Instead, Toyota’s Motorsport Technical Center in Plano, Texas, had Toyota Motor North America Research and Development in Ann Arbor, Mich., 3D-print an entire new roof insert using Accura Xtreme plastic that was light and easy to remove.
The new GR Supra Sport Top also features a couple new visual changes from the previous Heritage Edition build. The exterior is Toyota’s stock Absolute Zero white, but whole upper section of the passenger compartment is gloss black, hiding a lot of the extra lines for the targa top.
The mirrors got a matte red cap to bring the interior red leather seats’ hue to the outside. There’s also a new dual-pipe exhaust the exits in the center of the rear fascia. Toyota added a hand-built rear diffuser to go along with the new exhaust design.
The finished result looks less like your usual comically overdone SEMA build and more like a pre-production concept that needs to happen. So, all right Toyota: When? At least release that basket-handle spoiler to the Supra faithful as a factory option.
Got a tip? Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com