Toyota Supra is more than just a car to local Utah resident

CEDAR HILLS ­­­­­— In 2014, after more than three decades of Toyota Supra ownership and an extensive nationwide search, John Minert found the 1997 twin-turbo Toyota Supra that resides in his garage today.

When some people hear the name Toyota Supra, they think of action-packed car movies, while others might think of car shows or drag racing. When Minert thinks about the name Toyota Supra, he thinks of something else entirely.

“I purchased my first Supra in 1984,” Minert said. “And I have owned 13 Supras since then.”

Over the years, Minert has built Toyota Supras for a variety of venues; everything from stereo competitions, to high horse-power drag racing. One of his Toyota Supras was even featured in Sport Compact Car Magazine in 2003, but over time these iconic cars have become collector’s items, and Minert’s focus has changed.

“I favor something that is nearly stock with upgrades,” Minert said. “I feel like the car is rare enough, so why beat on it racing?”

Though his current Toyota Supra is close to showroom quality, it certainly wasn’t the case when he purchased it out of Austin, Texas.

Nearly everything on the car has been replaced. A new cylinder head was purchased along with a set of 264 camshafts. The stock twin-turbos were upgraded and the entire intercooler and piping system was swapped with a new four-row intercooler and 3-inch piping. Fuel and ignition is now controlled by a set of 750cc injectors and a piggy-backed MapECU.

The car utilizes a v160 Getrag six-speed transmission as well as a stock bottom end, but Minert swapped the stock rear differential with a TRD unit. The car also has a Megan racing-down pipe with a TRD factory cat-back exhaust that had been sitting in a Toyota dealership in Washington since 2007. The suspension on the car was upgraded with a set of Megan street coilovers, but still uses stock sway-bars. The car sits on a set of powder-coated, 18-inch Blitz wheels which are 10 inches wide in the front and 11 inches wide in the rear.

The tan interior was swapped out for black leather. The seats were re-upholstered with two different types of leather, and the door panels were also re-finished in the two-toned black leather to match. The dashboard backlighting has been changed to a more lucrative LED display, and the carpet was swapped with the rest of the interior to match the black-on-black look.

The exterior of the car is painted the factory Royal Sapphire Pearl, which is the second rarest color of this generation of Toyota Supra since it was only used on 1997 and 1998 cars, and Minert said it's his favorite.

While the Toyota Supra has played a large role in Minert’s life for more than 30 years, the people associated with these cars are also important to him. Minert met his friend Matthew Whitaker in 1998 through a mutual passion for these rare cars.

“I work with computers all day,” Whitaker said. Working on these cars “helps balance me out.”

Minert said he has made friends all over the country through the Supra community. He also said working on his car is a way for him to plan and cope with the challenges in his life.