What comes off as challenging your paradigm more? An electric Plymouth GTX? Or a Japanese car based on a Teuton paying homage to Richard Petty?
You may be familiar with the Toyota GR Supra, a revived sports car based on (and more popular than) the BMW Z4. It’s been available for five years already, available with a 2.0-liter turbo four and a three-liter turbo V6. Since the beginning, an eight-speed automatic was the only transmission available, but a six-speed manual finally appeared for 2023. For 2025, the turbo four will be discontinued.
At the SEMA Show, Toyota has a gaggle of concepts to whet the want of enthusiasts visiting the Las Vegas event. Of special note is the Suprabird Tribute, a GR Supra concept created to honor The King (aka Richard Petty) and the 1970 Road Runner Superbird that brought him back to Plymouth after a year at Ford. “The vision was to recreate the aesthetic of the iconic Superbird in the form of a modern-day GR Supra, and thus the Suprabird was born!” says former Top Gear USA host and Toyota ambassador Rutledge Wood.
If it reminds you of Lightning McQueen, you aren’t alone. Beyond the custom body kit, this Supra features a cold air intake and custom cat-back performance exhaust. To reduce body roll, coilovers were swapped in. A set of custom blue 19-inch wheels are wrapped in sticky Continental tires, though no word on what the drifter set has to say about that.
This GR Supra actually has an honest-to-goodness connection to Richard Petty beyond the “Petty Blue” hue and hand-painted 43 livery—Toyota Gazoo Racing has a partnership with Legacy Motor Club, the racing team formerly known as Petty GMS Motorsports (and, before that, Richard Petty Motorsports) that was owned by Richard Petty.
“I wanted to welcome Petty to the Toyota Gazoo Racing Family, celebrate his affiliation with Legacy Motor Club, and pay homage to the 75th Anniversary of the Petty Family in Racing,” adds Wood.
To purists, the combination will come off as some sort of Dr. Moreau concoction. To its creators, it’s a celebration of the past and present. And, if you cannot get to Vegas to check out this Frankenstein in the flesh, you’ll be happy to learn it’ll be rendered as a Hot Wheels die-cast.
