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Murcielago vs Supra
The Bull and the Matador
How does this sound for an evening joy ride: Lamborghini Murcielago versus Toyota Supra? JV Colayco finds out for us mortals
Photography by Charles Kim
It started with a question, one of the most frequently posed what-ifs among automobile enthusiasts. "Is it possible to modify a normal, everyday car to rival—if not surpass—the performance and overall excitement of a purebred sports car?"
But such experiments have become fairly commonplace. We've all heard, for instance, of hot Civics prowling the streets at street races and at least a few tuned rice rockets packing enough go-fast goods to embarrass even BMW M3s at the drags.
Wouldn't it be a lot more interesting then to take our basic question and ratchet it up? Not by mere clicks but by an order of magnitude. This is going all out, whole hog, totus porkus. We're talking Bruce Lee versus Mike Tyson and Superman versus the Incredible Hulk. This is, dear readers, a Lamborghini Murcielago versus a tuned-to-destroy-all-rivals Toyota Supra.
The first and most obvious question is, "Which is faster?" But I've always believed that there's so much more to the ownership experience of special (let's face it—expensive) cars than top speed or quarter-mile time slips. If straight-line pace was all that mattered at the expense of everything else, then we'd all be driving around in tube-frame drag specials with turbo-charged bottle-fed motors, stripped-to-metal interiors and spine-shattering suspensions. So, while acceleration and top speed are among the defining attributes of these cars, we're interested in their other qualities as well.
Lamborghini Murcielago
The Murcielago (pronounced mur-thie-lago, with the accent on 'thie') is already a living legend in automobiledom. It is Lamborghini's flagship, and that alone already elevates it to something special, as the artisans from Sant'Agata have a long tradition of producing some of the world's most desirable cars. Direct descendant of the Countach and the Diablo, which together virtually defined the concept of a dream car for over thirty years, the Murcielago's place in the pantheon of automobile gods was all but guaranteed from its launch in 2002.
The car's fame is certainly well-deserved. The spec sheet pushes just about every hot button a gearhead could have: a gargantuan 6.2-liter V12 engine that nevertheless sings all the way to a screaming 7,200rpm redline on its way to producing a mind-numbing 580hp. With that kind of thump, the security of a full-time all-wheel drive system is comforting to the inexperienced or ham-fisted pilot. And the term 'pilot' is not accidental, as the Murcie's top speed is over 330kph—though the relevance of that figure is debatable, what with the state of our traffic and road networks. If you have to ask, the factory-quoted quarter-mile time is about 12 seconds dead. And there have been more than a few documented owner-driven cars achieving time slips in the high 11's at the strip.
Still, the car's designers surely didn't have quarter-mile acceleration in mind, because this is a car whose performance envelope is firmly in the stratospheric zone well above 250kph. It is the automotive equivalent of Galactus, the eater of worlds. And traversing continents is what it does best. Winning at the strip was never a major part of its design brief. It is the Murcielago's styling, however, which truly sets the big Lambo apart from just about every other automobile on the planet. If the car looks striking in photos (and it certainly does), it is simply, utterly jaw-droppingly gorgeous in the metal. There's something so visceral, so elemental about this raging bull's lines that it ceases to be something as mundane as a mode of transportation. You don't need to be a gearhead to love it. In fact, you don't need to be a car nut to recognize that to see the Murcielago for real is to be in the presence of something special.
Understandably, the price of admission assures that ownership means inclusion in a very exclusive club. Only approximately 400 cars are sold each year, well short of the car's closest competitor from Ferrari, the outgoing 575 Maranello. Little surprise then that no other than Frank Sinatra once said, "You buy a Ferrari when you want to be somebody. You buy a Lamborghini when you are somebody."
Toyota Supra
Toyota's Supra should also be a household name to anyone with even a passing interest in performance cars. Introduced in 1992, the Mark IV (so called because it represents the fourth iteration in the line) was a turning point not only for the Supra but for Toyota itself. The model's introduction catapulted the Japanese automaker into the rarefied air of super-high performance previously reserved for the hottest models from America, Italy and Germany.
In stock form, the twin sequential turbo'd 3.0-liter in-line six-cylinder motor generated 320hp and 427Nm of torque. And when mated to a Getrag six-speed manual transmission, it propelled the car to sub-5-second 0-100kph sprints and quarter-mile time slips of 13 seconds dead. Those are very respectable figures in 2006. At the time of the car's introduction over a decade ago, they sent tremors through the supercar elite, as the new kid from Japan ran with, if not outperformed, more expensive cars from the established sports car gentry.
Next to the rap sheet of the devil from Sant'Agata, however, any Toyota, even the Supra, seems absolutely pedestrian by comparison. But this is no ordinary Supra.
Supra owners soon learned that the 2JZ-GTE engine had incredible tuning potential and with some relatively minor modifications (commonly known as BPU, for Basic Performance Upgrades) was easily capable of supporting up to 400hp. More extensive fettling of the engine resulted in thermonuclear power levels, and our Supra here is a fine example of just such a monster.
The car has been showered with just about every imaginable high-end performance enhancement available. The car is more surefooted thanks to adjustable suspension by HKS, and passenger safety is enhanced by body-hugging racing buckets and a multi-point alloy roll cage. Superglue-sticky Mickey Thompson drag slicks and lightweight forged magnesium wheels deliver maximum grip, while dropping safely out of hyperspace is ensured by massive AP racing brakes. This is just a partial rundown of all the car's goodies, since the list reads like a how-to guide to building an exotic supercar-slaying, fire-breathing land rocket.
The centerpiece, of course, is a fully built powerplant courtesy of Autoplus's chief engine guru Francisco “God loves my work” Blanco. A work of art and labor of love, this no-holds-barred project involved modifying and customizing by hand, virtually every critical component to Blanco's exacting design and specifications. Clearly, someone up there was listening. In the street trim (pump fuel and low-boost settings on the massive twin turbos) utilized for this feature, the engine already produces around 570hp. At moderately higher boost settings, the engine has already hit 650hp, though this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. Further tuning and a diet of racing fuel could very well see the dyno past the 900hp mark. Forget generating forward motion in a motor car. We're talking enough power here to actually light a small city.
On the Road
OK, so we got the stats and specs out of the way. But what are these titans really like on the road?
Everything about the Murcielago is an event. Even the act of entering or exiting the cockpit sets it apart from lesser vehicles. Pressing down on the recessed door latch located at the lower lip of the window frame exposes a flimsy-looking grab handle (it's actually very solid). Grasp firmly, give it a stout tug, and those famous scissor doors hiss open like the hatch of an Imperial TIE fighter. Actually getting into the driver's seat can be a rather awkward affair, as that door sill is incredibly wide and a bit of practice is required to execute the maneuver gracefully. Closing those doors is a manly affair as well; they require a hefty pull but do shut with a satisfyingly beefy thunk.
On the move, the big Lambo can't hide its girth. At about two inches wider than a Ford Expedition yet eight inches shorter than a Honda Civic Type-R, the Murcielago looks wide and feels even wider. As one might expect, the Murcielago's suspension isn't ideal for our roads either. While not uncomfortable, you're never in doubt about the car's extremely sporting intent: Suspension travel is very limited, and damping is so tightly controlled that expansion joints and minor potholes result in some ride harshness.
Of course, on a long enough stretch of smooth tarmac, it is easy to forgive all that. Power is metered out by that huge normally aspirated engine in a constant colossal wave, which ironically somewhat mutes the impression of speed. But it is the Murcielago's stability that is truly staggering. On the wide expanse of the Skyway, this bat out of hell (Murcielago means ‘bat' in Spanish) feels safer and more planted at 300kph than most cars do at 180kph. Only the incredible snarl from the huge engine sitting inches from your backside and the roar from the pair of bazooka exhaust pipes (the only aftermarket component on the car) belie the fact that you're traveling at three times the legal limit. The aerodynamicists have obviously done their homework.
The Supra is a very different animal. Lacking the Murcie's European flair, it nevertheless commands attention and respect. Heads will turn and car alarms will go off as the engine comes to life with a loud bark. There's a bit of hesitation as the engine warms up, but everything settles down soon enough to a thrummy, bassy idle.
Trundling leisurely along EDSA, this beast from the East impresses by how easy it is to drive. Normal conversation is possible without raising your voice, the air conditioning works fine, and not once did Francisco look like he was wrestling with the car. In fact, the Supra's ride is actually more compliant than the Lamborghini's, despite competition-spec coil-overs and thinly padded (but supremely supportive and comfortable) non-adjustable racing buckets. This is not to say it is supple like a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but it's certainly comfortable enough, especially for such an extreme machine.
And extreme this Supra is, once those huge turbos are let off their leash. There isn't the knife-edged head-snapping acceleration you'd get from a race-bred normally aspirated engine like the Murcielago's or even a Ferrari Modena's. But after a moment's hesitation, there's a supernova that goes off somewhere underneath that carbon-fiber engine cover, and we're off kicking and screaming, rear tires hopelessly scrabbling for grip into third gear.
Subjectively, the violence of the turbos' power delivery creates a sensation of speed even greater than in the Lamborghini. It is an adrenaline rush in the purest sense: exhilaration, wonder, amazement and a healthy dose of fear. And like a little child being tossed into the air by his father, you're left dizzy and giggling, your mind screaming, "Do it again!"
Parked side-by-side, the Lamborghini and the Toyota are as fascinating for their differences as they are for their similarities. The Murcielago is the smooth operator—the trained assassin in an Armani suit. Stylish, flamboyant, a prince with the ladies. And yet extremely lethal to everyone else. The Supra may not have the Murcielago's tailored three-piece togs or blue-blood pedigree.
And where the Italian bull was bred around the sunny foothills of Sant'Agata and was never in doubt of its place in the supercar pecking order, the Supra is a hardened street fighter raised in rough neighborhoods in which respect is not inherited at birth but rather earned.
Which is faster? This can only be answered by instrumented testing on an appropriate stretch of road (long, flat and deserted), which is pretty hard to find, considering the 300kph-plus potential of these land rockets. And at this level, it really doesn't matter much.
On the evening of our photoshoot, the Murcielago and the Supra were so devastatingly quick that the tuned Evos, 200SX's and the cars present that night were left absolutely flailing in their wake.
These are two of the most extreme cars on our roads today. And while each of us may prefer one over the other for his own reasons, if you love cars at all, the only conclusion is that both are absolutely brilliant. That they're both here and prowling Manila's streets, is wonderful news for all of us.
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Top Gear Philippines - June 2006
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