The Toyota Supra is probably not your first idea of a 30-year-old classic. However, the famous Mk4 did indeed debut in 1993 and is still one of the most iconic Japanese cars of all time. That’s mostly due to its infinitely tunable 2JZ engine, but the jelly bean design also deserves to be brought to 2023 standards with a restomod, just like you would a vintage Ford Mustang.
There’s no shortage of 2JZ builds out there, but most of them have focused on performance. It’s hard to forget all the JDM body kits, the outlandish wings, and crazy paint jobs to just deliver a restomod. Thankfully, YouTube artist TheSketchMonkey took it upon himself to digitally re-master this classic, and he doesn’t need a SEMA-sized budget to get it done, just an afternoon and his trusty Photoshop.
I don’t think people appreciate just how revolutionary the Mk4 Supra actually looked back in its day. Initially, the Supra nameplate was more of a GT in a segment of sports cars, but the 1993 model drastically slimmed down and adopted long flowing lines in contrast with its boxy predecessors.
But does the Mk4 Supra even need a restomod?
The nose featured one of the biggest air intakes of any car, and the optional wing was big enough for a fighter jet, matching the cockpit-style interior. While the current generation is seen as a Toyota design on top of a BMW chassis and engine, the Mk4 Supra was viewed in the early 1990s as a Lexus in disguise.
You have to remember that Lexus was all the rage back then, a revolutionary carmaker that dethroned the Germans. The 4th-gen Supra became shorter and much lighter than a Mk3 thanks to a proven Lexus SC chassis. Meanwhile, the 2JZ was a beefed-up Lexus 3-liter 24-valve engine, the base model making 220 horsepower without a turbo. Add a pair of sequential turbos and the six-cylinder jumped to 320 hp.
So how do you do a Supra restomod, digital or otherwise? Well, in the case of a Mustang or Chevelle, you’d update the wheels and subtly change the design to match modern standards. It’s a case of old meets new here as well.
TheSketchMonkey chose to give the 1993 Supra a set of 2023 wheels, changed the bumper, and even updated the headlights to match the modern shape, inside the jellybean shape, of course. Some of you are going to hate this at first, saying that the classic Supra doesn’t need any of this. But it doesn’t need 1500 horsepower engine builds or crazy body kits either. And if a restomod Mk4 would ever be built, it would at least become famous, if not appreciated by the JDM community.
