#sema360

Overlanding, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a form of self-reliant camping in which the journey is just as important as the actual destination. Trips generally take place over rough terrain, leading one into camping country while enjoying the scenery and perhaps a few off-road obstacles along the way. With social distancing being a new and important term this year, the overlanding hobby has exploded in a big way — especially since it can make for a very family-friendly form of exploration.

Longtime fans of the brand will recall previous generations of the Supra could be opted with a removable roof or t-tops, depending on the year. This concept blends both ideas, employing two composite panels but no center bar cleaving its way through the roof opening. Toyota’s R&D crew in Michigan used 3D printing technology to create the panels, crafting a pair which retain the windshield header shape, not to mention the outer roof body structure forms on each side of the driver’s and passenger’s side outer roof body structure shapes.

The last time we checked in with MTC or Motorsports Technical Center, Marty Schwerter, the team manager walked us through the concept of developing another one-off Supra. Conceived as a companion to the Supra Heritage showcased at SEMA 2019, this new Toyota Sport Top will be a targa top version of the GR Supra. The Toyota Supra Sport Top, as it is called, is being created as part of SEMA360, an online avatar of the SEMA Show usually held in Vegas every year. And today, they released an update on their progress transforming a Supra into a customized Sport Top version.

Few machines are better suited for this task than the Toyota Tacoma. As part of the company’s SEMA360 virtual showcase, this overland-ready pickup was built by the crew at 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine and billed as the ultimate outdoor lifestyle rig featuring a slew of off-road performance upgrades.

A signature characteristic of 4th-gen Toyota Supra was the availability of a targa roof. Popping the top on a Supra from that era let in a flood of atmosphere – both literally and figuratively. Other generations of the car could also have been opted as a targa but, for many JDM gearheads, the A80 represents peak Supra.