1997 Toyota Supra Mangled After Mechanic's Wild Crash

by Chris Teague

Published: January 11th, 2023

1997 toyota supra mangled after mechanic s wild crash

The fourth-generation Toyota Supra became the face of tuner culture after a certain wildly famous car movie made it look untouchable on the streets. That popularity has led to a monstrous increase in prices for the cars, and as one Colorado mechanic shop just found out, crashing one that doesn’t belong to you can come with equally monstrous consequences.

A video posted to Facebook shows the incident, in which a shop tech got too enthusiastic with the throttle and lost control of the car. He can’t get a handle on the car and ends up plowing through a roadside barrier. The video doesn’t capture much of the crash, but we see a flash of the mangled car as the filming car passes.

The Drive reported on the story and reached out to the Englewood Police Department, which told the publication that the driver was not the car's owner. Police also confirmed that he was taken to a local hospital after the rollover crash, but the person filming told The Drive that the driver was fine.

Trey Grube, the person filming the crash, said that the driver had followed traffic laws before the crash. Given the temperatures in Englewood earlier this week, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that the tires were inappropriate for the weather or that they hadn’t been warmed up properly beforehand.

Either way, the Supra’s owner may pursue legal action against the shop, depending on how the after-crash discussion went. Clean turbocharged Supras from that era are routinely listed with six-figure price tags, so it’ll be up to the shop’s insurance (or lack thereof) to make the owner whole.

[Image: Screenshot from 1320 Video via Facebook]

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Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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2 of 19 comments

Zerofoo on Jan 12, 2023

I suspect each parties' lawyers will make a buck and the owner of this now smashed vehicle will get coupons for free oil changes.

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Festiva Rob on May 25, 2023

One less car on the streets, one more car in the junkyard. 😢 JUST LIKE MY GOOFY AHH TESLA MODEL X!!! 😡

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