Toyota is restoring an A70 Supra via its Gazoo Racing Heritage Parts Program. A few years ago Toyota restarted production of parts for both generations of the Supra, A70 and A80 (in Japan the A40 and A60 were called the Celica XX and predate the Supra name). To showcase what the program is capable of, Toyota is bringing a rusty A70 back to its former glory.
The car in question appears to be the 1992 2.5GT Twin Turbo from Toyota’s Kinto Vintage Club rental service. Equipped with the Japan-only 1JZ-GTE 2.5-liter straight-six., it was the first Toyota to bump up against the 280ps limit of the Gentleman’s Agreement and was the fastest of the A70 series. It also featured a larger intercooler, Torsen diff, Bilstein shocks, and exclusive interior trim. Sadly, the original gunmetal gray wheels appear to be long gone, replaced with a set of gold BBS rims.
Toyota has a handful of GR Garages around Japan capable of taking on such a restoration, and this one is being conducted by craftsmen at the GR Garage in Toyama Shinjo. It’s a nut-and-bolt restoration that involves stripping the car down to its bare shell, which reveals some large rust holes in the spare tire well and trunk floorpan. Many reproduction GR Heritage parts are put to good use, including tie rod ends, bushings, and a fuel sending unit. The body shell is repainted in its original black.
The video ends with a “To be continued…” so we hope to see future installments covering the restoration process. When complete, the car will be displayed at the upcoming Automobile Council show in April. After that, it’ll return to service as a rental car.
I would ship my TE27-MAQ there for a full restoration.
The arm bushings are super expensive, so much more expensive than BMW and Merc bushings, what is Toyota doing ?