The Toyota Castrol SUPRA GT (JGTC) '96 is a race car produced by Toyota. It so far appeared only in the first two games of the Gran Turismo series.
The car appears to resemble the #36 driven by Masanori Sekiya and Pedro de la Rosa (entered by Castrol Toyota Team Tom's), who achieved a 8th place finish in the 1996 JGTC season.
In-game description[]
This description is taken from the NTSC version of Gran Turismo 2:
The All-Japan GT Championship began in 1993. The Supra GT has entered it every year since 1994, and in 1997, after growing faster with age, finally defeated arch rival Skyline GT-R to win the series championship. The GT is based on showroom Supra models but has been modified to the full extent allowed by regulations. These many modifications are designed to achieve race-winning performance by bringing out the car's full potential. Despite the body size, scrupulous weight reduction measures have shaved off every excess ounce to lower the vehicle's weight to an amazingly low 2,420 lbs, the minimum allowed. In place of the showroom Supra's in-line 6-cylinder power unit, the Supra GT contains the same engine used by Celica in the WRC: the model 3S-GTE, a 1,998 cc DOHC in-line 4-cylinder engine positioned as far back as possible in the engine room and capable of generating a maximum output of 465 hp or more at 6,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 470 lb-ft or more at 4,500 rpm. A 43.9 mm air restrictor is installed to comply with output regulations. The transmission is a sequential 6-speed Hewland transmission with a triple-plate AP clutch. The chassis has the same double wishbone front and rear suspension as the standard model but also has longer arms and numerous Group C components, mounted to the steel chassis. Alterations cover every aspect of the car's design. The driving position is further back than in the standard Supra for better weight distribution. This is the ultimate in modified cars.
Acquisition[]
GT1[]
This car can be purchased in the special section of the Toyota Dealership for 500,000 Credits. The car is available in two different color schemes where one is the usual white with red and green Castrol stripes, while the other has some of the stripes colored blue. A black version of this car is also available as a prize for winning the Grand Valley 300km Endurance Race.
GT2[]
This car can be won by winning the first race of the Euro League, located on Apricot Hill Raceway. Unlike in GT1, the car is not available with the blue stripes, possibly for keeping the car closer to its real life counterpart. The black version of this car was also removed from the game.
Trivia[]
- Despite the fact that both the description and the real-life basis of this car states it is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo motor, the spec sheet still shows it as being an inline-6 engine.
- Although the white with red and blue stripes color scheme of this car was removed in GT2, it still has that color scheme in the demo versions of the game, where this car is playable through cheat codes.
- This is so far the only race car with a special colored counterpart in the Gran Turismo series.
- In GT1 Test Drive demo, the car is called SUPRALM. As the car's internal name is tsplr, it is possible that Toyota's special model car was intended to be the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans SARD Supra LM GT1 car; the car in question became racing modifications for 1995 model year Supras instead.
- The car's banner logo in GT1 appears to resemble those used in boxes of Tamiya model and radio control kits around the time the game was published.
- In the original Gran Turismo, this car had a 7-speed transmission, being one of only three cars in the first game to have this particularity, the others being the Dodge Viper GTS-R '96 and the Mitsubishi GTO LM Edition.
Pictures[]
.jpg "Toyota Castrol Supra GT '96 (GT1).jpg (151 KB)")
