The Toyota Supra has a reputation. Rather, it has several. Reliable, fast, practical, and a jack-of-all-trades, the Supra has it all. Now, we can officially add expensive to that list. Well, expensive has been on that list for a while now, but let’s just say this most recent Bring a Trailer result made things real for me. The 7,000-mile, twin-turbo, “two jay Z, no SHIT” Toyota Supra you see below sold for a ridiculous $201,000. Yeah, that’s a lot.

The MKIV Toyota Supra deserves its reputation

For people like me, (born in 1997) and those who are, say, plus or minus 10 years on me, the Toyota Supra is… well, legend feels cliched. Iconic? Frankly, I struggle to find the words to describe the legacy of the Toyota Supra. There’s so much history wrapped up in one little 177″ by 50″ box. Decades of tuner pedestal-placing and silver screen stardom have shaped a Japanese grand touring car into the status symbol it is today.

Because that’s what the MKIV Supra is now. A status symbol. For people my age, it means you’ve made it far enough in life to be able to afford yours and everyone else’s dream car. Just like your dad’s Camaro, this car says “I did it.” And now, the market has placed a premium on the automotive equivalent of the phrase “I did it.” Again, it has for some time, but this time around it feels real.

This Supra sets a worrying precedent for the market

By real I mean extraordinary. As in circumstances. We’re still in the middle of a globe-ravaging pandemic. I’m very lucky to be sitting here, getting paid to write this. There are people out there with much longer resumes than mine sitting out in the cold. And yet, someone just dropped two hundred thousand dollars on a Toyota Supra that (adjusted for inflation) cost $97,204.41 back in ’95.

I’m not just trying to make a statement about wealth inequality here, nor do I want to single out the buyer as some Scrooge McDuck type figure. I’m genuinely happy someone gets to enjoy this car. But frankly, things just keep getting more expensive. Now, it’s not possible to boot-strap it up and go make $200k just like that. The cars that people my age dream of change hands for insane prices. They’re gone for average Joes and Janes.

It’s called a “dream car” for a reason

Frankly, the Toyota Supra isn’t a dream car anymore. It’s a fantasy. One that will surely continue to perpetuate the market values we have historically seen and will continue to see for these JDM halo cars. Now, maybe, just maybe, we’ll all get lucky and see a drop in values as older millennials with money lose interest, a-la what happened to golden age muscle cars. However, it’s far more likely the rest of us will have to move on from fantasy cars and pick more grounded realistic dream cars. That’s fine, because there’s still plenty of dream cars left out there.