Toyota’s sports car nameplate began as a performance-oriented version of the Celica and reached the U.S. market for the 1979 model year. Early cars wore the Celica Supra name and were positioned as upscale, rear-wheel-drive six-cylinder coupes, with the badge first appearing in the late 1970s before the car steadily evolved into a distinct model of its own. By the mid-1980s, Toyota had separated it from the Celica line and given it a clearer identity as a standalone sports car, marking the transition from an upscale grand tourer into a more purpose-built performance coupe.
A second major era arrived in 1993 with the fourth-generation car, the generation that most enthusiast communities know best. That model became the high point of the original run, combining Toyota performance engineering with a strong motorsports and pop-culture following. It remained in U.S. showrooms through the 1998 model year, while production in Japan continued until 2002, after which the nameplate disappeared from the market.
After a long gap, Toyota revived the badge for the 2020 model year with the GR Supra. This return preserved the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports-car formula while introducing a new generation for a new era. Because the nameplate was discontinued and later brought back, its history is split into separate production periods rather than one continuous run. The result is one of Toyota’s most recognizable enthusiast models: a car that started as a Celica derivative, grew into its own identity, went away for years, and returned as a modern flagship sports coupe.