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A blue 2021 Toyota Supra 3.0 on a runway

How Fast Can a Toyota Supra Go? Autobahn Top Speed Run

The Toyota Supra is a legend in the automotive world. It is the equivalent of the Japanese muscle car with a history that goes back decades. So, when the Supra was revived again just a few short years ago, there was a lot of interest in it. Even though the current model is not a purebred Toyota (it is …

The Toyota Supra is a legend in the automotive world. It is the equivalent of the Japanese muscle car with a history that goes back decades. So, when the Supra was revived again just a few short years ago, there was a lot of interest in it. Even though the current model is not a purebred Toyota (it is made in conjunction with BMW), it has still inspired a lot of Toyota fans to go out and buy a new one, modify it, and make it faster. But, how fast does a Supra go fresh out of the factory?

A titanium colored Supra sits on display at a car show
The Toyota Supra is on display at the Dream Car exposition, which is part of the Brussels Motor Show on January 9, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium | Photo by Didier Messens/Getty Images

Electronically limited top speed

The 2020 Toyota GR Supra has an electronically-limited top speed. So the top speed will not be known until tuner finds a way to hack the ECU, the main computer, and reprogram it to remove the limiter. In theory, that limiter kicks in at 155 miles per hour. However, our friends at Cars on Autobahn, have access to… the Autobahn in Germany. Specifically, they use a section that has no speed limit to take out a current generation, stock Supra and do some testing.

Supra unleashed on Autobahn

Once the Supra reaches the Autobahn, the driver has a few opportunities to lay into the throttle. The exhaust sounds great, by the way. Anyway, the cell phone mounted on the windshield displays the driver’s speed via a GPS tracking app. Once the car reaches 260-kilometers per hour (161 miles per hour), the car tops out, seemingly when the limiter cuts in. 

2020 Toyota Supra
2020 Toyota Supra | Toyota

Making sure the initial high-speed pass was not a fluke, the video continues to watch the driver do another high-speed run. Again, at the 260-kilometer mark (161 miles per hour), the car stops accelerating. It sounds like the car has a lot still to give when the limiter kicks in. No warning lights came on in the instrument display, and no clattering came from the engine to suggest it was in distress. So, it is safe to say that the vehicle was operating as expected. In fact, the car continues off the highway afterward at speeds more in keeping with the traffic. 

The two high-speed runs are back-to-back. They begin at the 4:10 timestamp. 

The most astounding thing from the second run is that it is raining during the test. The windshield keeps getting pelted with raindrops, and the wipers come on. One hundred sixty-one miles per hour in the rain! 

Supra unleashed at dry lake bed

Does the American spec Supra also have a limiter? To find that out, the popular Youtuber that goes by the name Stradman, took his Supra out to a dry lake bed in Utah. He hit 163 miles per hour when the Supra topped out. Again, it looked sounded as if the engine had more to give when it reached the top but was held back.

Here is the video. His high-speed run begins at 6:00 timestamp.

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The GR Supra has a 3.0 liter, twin-turbo, 6-cylinder engine. Zero-to-sixty is timed at 4.1 seconds. Interestingly, the Autohan and dry lake bed attempts both superseded the 155 miles per hour published limited top speed from Toyota. The starting price for the Supra is at $49,990, excluding destination, taxes, and handling fees.

It will not be long before a tuner finds a way to bypass the Toyota GR Supra’s speed limiter if that has not been done already. Still, the new Supra is a formidable package in the sportscar world. It has quick zero-to-sixty times that are comparable to some supercars, and its top speed seems only limited by computer programming and not actual capability. For now, the answer to the question, how fast can it go, is 163 miles per hour. 

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