A 1998 Toyota Supra confiscated by police sells for $265,000 at auction

According to The Drive, a 1998 Toyota Supra seized from the collection of an alleged drug lord sold for $265,000 at a recent J. Stanley Payne auction.

The Supra, the final year model of the desirable A80 generation, was one of 13 A80 Supras and other vehicles seized by police in Massachusetts in 2020 from a purported drug dealer, now deceased. The collection also included a 1993 Supra with a twin-turbo engine, six-speed manual transmission, and only 8,169 miles on the odometer. The car sold for $237,500.

The 1998 Supra had 22,962 miles, but was painted in the rarer Quicksilver while the 1993 Supra was painted in Super White. Sentimentality may have played a part. A Supra Forum user who said he knew the buyer said the person regretted selling a similar car a few years earlier and was committed to getting another one.

According to The Drive and Autoblog, Quicksilver's Supra is headed to California to be kept as a collection. Given the current value of the A80 Supra, it's an understandable decision: a one-owner 1995 Supra with only 7,000 miles on it sold for $201,000 at Bring a Trailer in July 2021. Two more cars have sold at Bring Trailer this year for just over $150,000 each.

As children of the 1990s have more disposable income, cars from that era have skyrocketed in value. This is a similar phenomenon to the muscle car collector boom of the early 2000s, fueled by nostalgic baby boomers. But the A80 Supra also has star power, thanks to the "Wild Speed" series. At an auction last year, the original car from the film sold for $560,000.

Toyota is also trying to ride this wave of nostalgia. Not only has it resurrected the Supra, but it has also begun manufacturing reproduction parts for the A70 and A80 models.