Owner:
Ross Carpenter
What’s the car?
It’s a 1995 mk4 Toyota Supra Twin Turbo automatic in Deep Jewel Green (with a rainbow flake through the paint).
When & how did you come to buy it?
I bought the car in May 2018. I have always had a love for the colour of the car, which is quite rare, so jumped at the chance to get one. The car was posted on a mk4 Supra page with a âthinking of sellingâ style post, and within an hour of seeing the post I had agreed to buy the car subject to inspection. That was at lunchtime on the Friday and I went down to Newcastle to collect that Sunday.
What was your previous car?
Its predecessor was a 1994 mk4 Toyota Supra Non-turbo which I owned for six and a half years.
Anything you wish you had known before buying?
Nothing in all honesty. The car had been subject to a fair amount of work just prior to purchase which included a full respray, new wheels and tyres and an aftermarket suspension fitted so it was in very good condition. I have no complaints at all about it.
Has it had any modifications?
The car has a few bits and pieces. Externally, there are OEM side skirts and spats, with a âPaisleyâ style front splitter. The suspension is aftermarket BC coilovers and Rota Force 18â alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s all round. Performance wise, the car has a double decat exhaust with a restrictor ring which limits the boost to around 1 bar, and an unknown TRD replica backbox. Lastly there is an HKS mushroom cold air intake.
What do you love about it?
There are so many things that make the Supra such a special car to me. My personal favourite is the interior. Itâs has a wraparound dashboard that is so driver-centric and makes you feel special behind the wheel. Itâs the place I spend the most time and it is such a lovely place to be. The car was built to be a grand tourer and is a very comfortable place to be. Secondly, you just have to look at the car. It is absolutely stunning.
Anything you dislike about it?
The one criticism I have of the car, and the geniuses at Toyota who designed and built it, is that I cannot understand why there is a small section of the wiring loom running through the wheel arch above the tyres. The loom is protected by an arch liner and a plastic conduit cover but I have managed to ruin the liner and cover and started chewing through the wires (oops)!
What are the running costs like?
The day to day costs are nothing out of the ordinary. I feel they are very reasonable as it is mainly fuel that is the greatest expense. The tax is limited because itâs a Japanese import and itâs a Toyota so nothing breaks unless I do something stupid (RIP my carbon front lip and HKS Hi-power backbox).
Any future plans for the car?
The list goes on. Itâs a car I plan to keep for life so it will be preventive maintenance in the immediate future to ensure it stays in the condition it is in. The front bumper needs a respray and the wiring looms need moved from the arches into the wings. Once that is done I will take the performance up to what is known as BPU level and will hopefully mean circa 400ish rwhp.
What memorable drives/road trips has it’s been on?
The one that stands out in my near 2 years of ownership is my trip to the Nurburgring in October 2018. We travelled around 1,600 miles in 4 days there and back, though only managed one lap of the Green Hell. I was very conscious of the drive home whilst trying to restrain myself from getting the hammer down through some of the faster section of the circuit. It was a trip I will always treasure in my memory and the car performed flawlessly the entire journey.
Another trip was a small highland loop that we went on at the start of last year. Started in Newton Mearns and travelled up to the Green Welly in Tyndrum, up through Glencoe with a brief stop at the âSkyfallâ location where they took that iconic picture with the Aston Martin. We carried on up through Ballachulish and back down the Argyll Coastal Route, with a lunch stop in Oban. Our last stop was at âRest and be Thankfulâ before returning to Newton Mearns. It was a fantastic trip on a fairly dour day but the roads were quiet and a lot of fun.
I also had a memorable trip for the wrong reasons with a jaunt over to Millport for a classic car show on a gorgeous day. I made it onto the ferry with no problems in the morning, attended the show, but as we went to get back on the ferry, the tide was low and the ferry wasnât as far up the ramp. This meant that there was a steep angle and because the car is so low I could not get on! After trying to use blocks and approaching from different angles, we had to wait for the other ferry which had to edge further up the ramp to reduce the angle as much as possible to allow us to get on. A fair amount of scraping later I made it on. What didnât help was the massive queue of cars behind me who were all leaving the event at the same time!
What’s next?
Next I would love to get my hands on a KE70 Toyota Corolla. I am a complete Toyota fanboy and there are a good few cars I would love to get my hands on but the KE70 is top of the list. Unfortunately, that requires some saving on my part and restraint not to keep spending on the Supra.
