The Drive: Jay Leno Interviews Paul Walker’s Brother Cody in a Toyota Supra
Source: The Drive
Jay Leno Interviews Paul Walker’s Brother Cody in a Toyota Supra
The two share memories of Paul’s early career, acting, surfing, and car collecting.
By Talon Homer May 15, 2018
Jay Leno recently brought Cody Walker, brother of the late Fast & Furious star Paul Walker, down to his garage to have a chat and go for a ride in a 1993 Toyota Supra Turbo. During the almost 30 minute video, Jay and Cody chat about their experiences with cars, memories of Paul, and an upcoming charity event held by the surviving Walker brothers.
The particular Supra used for the video was a JDM example that had just recently become legal for U.S. import. While this car was no 1,000 horsepower monster, it did have some visible upgrades including a body kit, Recaro seats, a large front-mount intercooler, and aftermarket wheels. This Supra also retains the factory 2JZ sequential turbochargers, a feature that many tuners scrap in favor of a larger single turbo. The Supra is significant in its similarities to an all-white 1993 model that was owned by Paul, and was featured at the very end of Furious 7.
During the drive, Cody shares some stories about watching his 15 years elder brother get into acting. Leno remarks that Paul had always appeared very down to Earth during his appearances on The Tonight Show, and that his acting gig just seemed like a means to collect cars and go surfing. Halfway through the interview, the conversation naturally turns to cars, and Cody goes on about the virtues of minivans, saying that he has “an affinity for cars that are honest” in a world of crossovers trying to be everything at once.
Walker also promoted an upcoming event, “In Memory of Paul,” that has been set up by him and his brother Caleb. The car show and meetup will be held on May 20 in Santa Clarita, California, and all proceeds will go to Reach Out WorldWide. The non-profit was started by Paul with a mission to aid in disaster relief efforts across the world. Tickets can be bought for a pre-sale discount at the event’s website.
Toyota USA – Newsroom: The Legend Returns: Toyota Unveils GR Supra Racing Concept
Toyota Supra Heritage
The GR Supra Racing Concept revives the great heritage of one of Toyota’s most famous sports cars. The Supra name evokes power, performance and handling that defined a succession of world-class cars for a quarter of a century. As a thoroughbred sports car, the Toyota Supra built a reputation both as a formidable performer on the road and as an all-conquering machine on the racetrack, dominating Japan’s top-level GT racing series and earning legions of fans.
The Toyota Supra still enjoys an iconic status among sports car aficionados, 16 years on from the end of production. Its enduring popularity has been helped by its success as a popular model in the Gran Turismo® driving simulator video game series, which is only playable on PlayStation consoles, and as a starring car in the first film in The Fast and the Furious global action movie series.
The Supra badge first appeared in 1978 on a larger and more powerful version of the second-generation Celica before becoming established as a successful model in its own right.
Known as the A40, the original Supra was followed by three further generations: the A60 in 1981, A70 in 1986 and A80 in 1993.
The front engine/rear-wheel drive GT sportscar remained in production until 2002, and in its final generation it was Toyota’s most powerful production model.
The Supra’s reputation was greatly enhanced by its success in motorsport. Most notably, the fourth-generation Supra, introduced in 1993, became the dominant force in the All-Japan GT racing – today’s Super GT series – winning the GT500 class four times.
The Toyota Supra also competed in American IMSA sportscar racing in the 1980s and twice appeared at Le Mans in the 1990s.
GR Supra Racing Concept
A compact, two-door car, the GR Supra Racing Concept has a pure front-engine/rear-wheel drive configuration and makes use of advanced lightweight materials in its construction.
Created by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, the concept perfectly expresses the “fun to drive” quality that is intrinsic to Toyota’s commitment to making ever-better cars. The large “90” race number on its doors is a historical reference to Supra’s codename and a big visual clue to the fact that this concept heralds Supra’s return in a fifth generation.
Its development is true to the belief of Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of the car company, that participation in motorsport provides the challenges of performance and durability that can directly help develop better cars, while at the same time generating interest and excitement among motoring fans.
This ethos has been fully embraced by both Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda and by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, with the pursuit of success at the highest levels of international motorsport, including the World Rally Championship, World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours race. Taking part in these and other racing series around the world provides technical learnings that can be transferred from the race track or rally stage to development of not just new generations of Toyota’s sports-focused GR models, but also to its wider range of vehicles, driven by tens of millions of people around the world.
The GR Supra Racing Concept is to be featured in a new update of the Gran Turismo Sport® video game, developed by Polyphony Digital Inc., and scheduled for release in April 2018.
Design, Chassis and Equipment Features
The racing concept has a dramatic bodywork design that includes a large rear wing. It makes extensive use of strong but lightweight composite material for elements such as the wide front and rear bumpers, front splitter and rear diffuser, side skirts, door mirror housings and the rear wing. The hood is crafted from the same material and features louvred air inlets. The windscreen and side windows are made of plastic.
The concept’s chassis features lowered front and rear suspension using original equipment (OE) components. BBS racing wheels with center-nut attachment are fitted with Michelin racing tires. The braking system uses Brembo Racing callipers and discs and there is a racing exhaust.
The cabin is entirely competition-focused and is fitted with a racing dashboard and OMP driver’s seat and safety harness. OMP has also supplied the quick-release steering wheel, mounted on a racing column and equipped with a paddle shift system. The doors are lined with carbon fiber panels and the dashboard includes a racing display.
Competition safety requirements are met by a full roll cage and fire extinguishers, and the fuel and brake lines, pedal box, battery and wiring looms are all designed to competition standard.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing first competed in Europe in 2007 (as GAZOO Racing). It began a long association with the Nürburgring 24 Hours with two Toyota Altezza cars (equivalent to the first generation Lexus IS) and a team comprising drivers and mechanics who were Toyota employees.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has since become the international umbrella organization for Toyota’s global sporting program. In just the past year it has claimed two victories during its first season in the FIA World Rally Championship and won five rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Its new vehicle development program has produced the Yaris GRMN performance hatchback, the latest in a successful series of performance-focused GR-branded cars and the first GRMN model to be developed and built in Europe.
Its work is based on three pillars: developing people through taking part in motorsport; creating fans through the excitement of motorsport and producing fun-to-drive cars; and making ever-better cars by using the knowledge gained from competition.
By bringing employees into the racing garages and pit lane, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing helps them improve their skills and help them acquire new abilities, working as a team in extreme, high-pressure environments. The personal development aspect of this work again feeds directly into Toyota’s making of ever-better cars, supported by people who have the experience and vision to excel.
Dimensions
| Length | 4,574mm |
| Width | 2,048mm |
| Height | 1,230mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,470mm |
Media Contacts
+1 (469) 292-6449
joshua.burns@toyota.com
Craig Taguchi
+1 (469) 292-4387
craig.taguchi@toyota.com
Jalopnik: Here Is Some Of The New Toyota Supra GT Concept Before You’re Supposed To See It
Setup has begun for the Geneva Motor Show, which opens in four days, and Toyota have rolled in their newest iteration of what we suspect will be the Supra. This car is clearly being shown in race car form, with a Gazoo Racing livery and center-lock wheels and sticky Michelin slick tires. Is it possible Toyota is entering this car in international GT3 regulation racing, or will it be a Japan only Super GT formula? We’ll have to wait and see.
MKIV.com Site Update Status
The goal when we took over MKIV.com a few years ago was to revitalize the site and foster member engagement and keep the site relevant and useful for the Supra community. There have been some ups and downs and quite a steep learning curve.
We initially moved the site to a new pro bono host in the Supra community and set to work on the functionality of the site. It became clear pretty quickly that the web designer contracted by the previous owner wouldn’t be available to make the repairs and updates to the site. We contemplated going back to the old site framework. We determined that the WordPress platform gives us the functionality necessary to have user interaction and the ability to have multiple contributors adding, editing and updating articles.
After some time, the pro-bono host had a change in business focus and we had to search for a new host. We found a host who specializes in WordPress hosting and transferred the site. Since then, we have been working (albeit slowly) on fixing functionality (as users report errors) and doing the groundwork to add new features.
A few months ago, the site was hacked and went down. We worked to get site back up. Despite many anti-malware and spam tools, we recently realized that the theme that had been used was still harboring some suspect code. It was a good (and necessary) opportunity to replace the site theme.
Based on feedback, we’ve changed theme and are working on making the site more user friendly and giving it a look and feel more familiar long time users while still keeping and improving the current functionality. We are still working out a few bugs with the new theme but they should be resolved in the near future.
As we near our 20th year as a website and resource, we look forward to help make and keep this site relevant and useful for many more Supra owner generations to come.
Sincerely,
-MKIV.com Admin Team
If you have constructive feedback and/or would like to become a site contributor, please respond to this thread in the form below, leave a comment or message the Admin Team.
Update (July 15th):
Afternooon all!
As you may have seen, we have the site running on the new theme. However we are still having some issues with old code fouling up the menu functions, etc.
In the next few days we’re are going to be doing a full reinstall, so there may be some downtime while we’re working on the repairs.
If the site is down, please check this post on our Facebook Page for updates.
Toyota aims to bounce back from Le Mans heartbreak with TS050 Hybrid
Source New Atlas
Toyota aims to bounce back from Le Mans heartbreak with TS050 Hybrid
A new set of regulations for this year have forced Toyota to develop a less-aggressive aero package. Along with a narrower rear diffuser, the splitter on the new TS050 runs 15 mm (0.6 in) higher than before, and the sharply-creased sidepods also play a role. The car pictured is running in low-downforce trim, with the high-downforce setup to be unveiled during testing.
The aerodynamic changes aren’t the only safety-first upgrades made to the TS050, with a set of wider rear mirrors making it easier to spot traffic behind. A set of lights lets officials know whether the hybrid system is working as intended, too, something all teams running a battery-boosted engine will have to fit this year.
“Although the TS050 Hybrid shares the same name as the 2016 car, its performance has been greatly improved by reviewing the powertrain and enhancing efficiency in all areas,” says Histake Murata, Racing Hybrid Project Leader. “Toyota Gazoo Racing’s biggest goal for this year, as always, is winning Le Mans. The team in Higashi-Fuji has worked ceaselessly since Le Mans last year to develop a powertrain which will deliver performance over one lap and over a full race distance, enabling us to compete at the front.”
The TS050 will be on show at FIA testing in Monza, which kicks off tomorrow.
Source: Toyota
Toyota Supra Spied Up Close Revealing More Details
Spy photographers have managed to get up close and personal with the new Toyota Supra.
Source: AutoGuide.com/Supraforums.com
By Jason Siu
Toyota Supra Spied Up Close Revealing More Details
By Jason Siu
Spy photographers have managed to get up close and personal with the new Toyota Supra.
Unfortunately the Supra is still wearing plenty of camouflage, but this time we get detailed photos of the tail lights that slightly resemble the previous Supra’s units with round housings. It’s still hard to pick out details on the upcoming sports car, but we will finally get the full picture when it bows at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show this October.
Riding on a platform that’s the result of a collaboration between BMW and Toyota, the new Supra will only be offered as a coupe while the BMW Z5 will be a convertible.
SEE ALSO: Watch the 2019 Toyota Supra Drifting in the Snow
It’s still unclear what powertrain Toyota will use on its Supra, but it’s possible the Japanese automaker will turn to BMW’s turbocharged engines. If not, expect to see a turbocharged V6 from Toyota that may be further boosted with electrification.
What It Takes – Formula D Pro 2
Source: Super Street Online
What It Takes – Formula D Pro 2
An inside look at FD’s farm league via the experience of Dan Burkett as he pursued promotion to the pros in his Mk4 Supra
“Understand the opportunity.” Formula DRIFT (FD) co-founder and Vice President Ryan Sage spoke these words to the collected hot shoes and team members during the final drivers meeting ahead of tandem eliminations at Round 4 of FD’s 2016 Pro 2 championship. The message was a simple but direct one: grasp the totality of where you are and where you’re headed.
Pro 2 began in 2014 as a bridge into the big leagues – a.k.a. the FD Pro Championship – for pro-am drivers and teams. Currently the feeder series has fewer rounds in a given year than Pro, and the talent in Pro 2 can seem uneven at times (the learning curve is steep), but pound for pound Pro and Pro 2 are very similar beasts. Agreeing to compete in Pro 2 means having an actual racing “program,” one you can pack up and transport to different parts of the continental United States for days at a time. It means having your car in order and being prepared for most eventualities. It means dealing with sponsors, other teams, the sanctioning body, and fans like a mature adult. And most of all, it means figuring out a way to pay for everything.
Ten Cars That Could Skyrocket in Value in 2017
According to Hagerty, these cars should make a nice investment.
BY CHRIS PERKINS DEC 28, 2016
Source ROAD & TRACK
‘The Fate of the Furious’ Trailer Brings on Even More Spectacle
Source: Hollywood Reporter
MARCH 09, 2017
8:15am PT by Aaron Couch
‘The Fate of the Furious’ Trailer Brings on Even More Spectacle
The eighth installment of the series hits theaters on April 14.
The Fate of the Furious is going into overdrive as it approaches its April 14 release date.
A new trailer has debuted, showing off more of the spectacle from director F. Gary Gray’s film, the eight installment of the long-running franchise.
Once again, the film includes stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kurt Russell. Newcomers include Charlize Theron and Scott Eastwood.
The Fate of the Furious hits theaters April 14.
