Kicking Tail

Toyota’s new sports coupe goes Head 2 Head against Ford’s updated Shelby GT350 pony

- Jethro Bovingdon

THE UNBROKEN DOUBLE yellow lines of the Tail of the Dragon flick left and right and heave and sigh with the topography before disappearing into woodland so dense that even the burning Tennessee sun barely breaks through. Ahead are 11 miles and 318 turns—at least that’s what’s printed on the T-shirts and mugs in the souvenir shop on the other side of the mountain—that should reveal whether the new 2020 Toyota Supra is the real deal.

Maybe it’s the stifling heat, or maybe we’re just lucky, but this revered section of U.S. Route 129 is almost spookily quiet. No motorcyclists, no cars ... just the Supra and me and a whole lot of solitude. It’s the perfect place to cut through the hype, the hyperbole, the promises, the controversy, and the din of conflicting opinions that swirl around Toyota’s new sports car more than any other I can remember.