As a Japanese sports car series that has experienced 40 years of global fame, Toyota Supra can be said to be the dream of the majority of JMD fans. After 20 years of separation from the market, Toyota launched the new GR Supra in 2019 and introduced domestic sales last year, which attracted the attention of many fans. However, due to the impact of production capacity, coupled with the blessing of feelings and beliefs, the car has been in a state of price increase.
However, despite the increase in sales, Toyota claims to lose 160,000 yuan for every Supra sold. In the professor's view, in fact, Toyota can earn 160,000 yuan more, but because of the rising cost of parts procurement, and the negotiation with BMW to build a factory is inappropriate, and finally found Magna OEM production, resulting in an increase in total costs, less than 160,000 yuan. So it announced that it lost 160,000 yuan per sale.
In fact, toyota has indeed experienced this kind of thing before, in the late 90s of the last century, in order to make supercars, Toyota spent ten years, research and development investment of 1.2 billion US dollars (about 7.6 billion yuan), to create the Lexus LFA classic sports car.
For the ultimate performance, the car is made of carbon fiber, the cost can be described as relatively frightening, and therefore, the price of this car at that time was as high as 5.988 million yuan, which was more expensive than the Ferrari 458 in the same period. At the same time, in order to ensure excellent quality, Lexus LFA is limited to 500 units worldwide, but 50 more vehicles were added later, and only 20 vehicles were allocated in China.
The Lexus LFA was a bold attempt by Toyota and proved its strong technical prowess, but the car also cost Toyota a lot of money, and it is said that every one sold lost millions, so that in the next decade, Toyota never launched a supercar. Despite the loss of money, for Toyota, the significance of the existence of the Lexus LFA is to enhance the brand image of Toyota and Lexus.
Today's Toyota Supra is completely different from the Lexus LFA, it does not need high R & D costs, because its production platform + three major pieces are BMW, only need to carefully design the appearance and interior, while some tuning matching between the engine, gearbox and chassis, which is simply easy for Toyota manufacturers of this scale.
More critically, Toyota Supra is not a limited car, although the domestic quota is small, but it has always been able to sell, if it really loses 160,000 yuan per sale, Toyota has long stopped selling, there is no need to frequently launch various special edition models of Supra within a year.
Just recently, Toyota released a GR Supra G40 50 Edition special edition model official map, it is reported that the car is to pay tribute to the GR Supra GT4 and built a special edition model. The new car is more focused on track performance, the overall style is more aggressive, and the sales are limited, with two units each in The Asian, European and American markets. At present, the car is priced at about 1.22 million yuan overseas, which is twice as expensive as the domestic ordinary version of the model.
In terms of appearance, the new car is upgraded on the basis of the ordinary version of the model, equipped with a very aggressive sports suit, including exaggerated front and rear surrounds, lightweight forged multi-frame wheels, large spoilers at the rear, etc., and these areas have been blackened. In addition, the front and rear logo logos, exterior mirror shells and parts of the hood have been blackened, showing a strong combat atmosphere.
In order to highlight the distinguished status of the special edition model, the gold "50 Edition" logo is worn on the hood, on the front wings on both sides and on the roof. In addition to the appearance of the logo, there are also signs in many places in the car.
If the exterior styling is still retained, then the interior of the Toyota GR Supra GT4 50 Edition is completely a pure track weapon, equipped with AMP racing seats and six-point seat belts, and in order to achieve lightweight, the interior of the car is wrapped in a large number of carbon fiber materials, and many parts are removed. In addition, it is equipped with a roll cage, which enhances the strength and twist resistance of the body and improves the safety of the driver.
In terms of powertrain, the Toyota GR Supra GT4 50 Edition is equipped with an upgraded 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder turbocharged engine with a maximum power of 430 horsepower and a peak torque of 650 Nm. Compared with the ordinary version of the 3.0T model, the horsepower is increased by 90 horses, the torque is increased by 150 Nm, and the acceleration time of 100 kilometers is unknown, but for reference, the acceleration time of the ordinary version of the 3.0T model is 4.3 seconds.
In terms of drivetrain, the new car is expected to match the 7-speed sequential transmission and is equipped with a mechanical limited slip differential at the rear axle, in addition, the suspension has also been adjusted, and it is also equipped with a brake system with front 6-piston and rear 4-piston brake calipers to ensure sufficient braking performance.
It is worth mentioning that a few months ago, Toyota launched the GR Supra Yuanshan Ash Limited Edition in China, with a limited edition of 50 units; launched the GR Supra 45th Anniversary Special Edition in overseas markets, with a limited edition of 35 units; and launched a special edition model called GR Supra A91-CF Edition in the US market, with a limited sales of 600 units. In addition, toyota GR Supra will also launch a manual version of the model, which is expected to be released on April 28 this year.
Relying on the belief of the majority of consumers in Supra, Toyota unscrupulously launched a variety of limited edition Supra, the purpose is not to satisfy consumers, but to make more money, so Toyota claims to sell a Supra to lose 160,000 yuan, which is pure nonsense. What's even more outrageous is that the domestic price increase is still needed to buy Supra, not that the professor does not understand JDM, but that the price increase behavior is somewhat shameless. Of course, the price increase is only habitual, and many big names in the circle also play a leading role.