by Paolo Lekai - Jun 19, 2026, 11:00 am

It's 11:00 a.m. on a Tuesday in the redwood forests of the San Francisco Bay Area, and somehow Taj Turner's MkIV Toyota Supra is still attracting attention.

A quick stop at Alice's Restaurant turns into another notification on his phone. Someone spotted the car and tagged him on social media while he was in the bathroom. It wouldn't be the last time that day. Despite being miles from any car meet or Cars & Coffee, the Supra kept appearing on strangers' stories, proving that some cars transcend the enthusiast world and become cultural icons.

For Taj, the journey to this Supra began decades earlier in a grocery store magazine aisle, where a copy of Lowrider magazine showed him that cars could be more than transportation. They could be passion, creativity, and self-expression. Years later, after countless project cars and modifications, he found himself drawn to the limitless possibilities of the MkIV Supra.

Then it was stolen.

Most people would have moved on. Taj did the opposite.

Using the insurance payout, he searched for another Supra and started over with a one-owner, completely stock example. What followed was a five-year pursuit of a vision that had lived in his head for years: Ridox bodywork, BBS E88 wheels, a fully reimagined interior, twin-turbo power, and countless details that transformed the Toyota legend into something uniquely his own.

Yet what makes this story compelling isn't the parts list. It's the persistence. The refusal to let a stolen car become the end of the story.

Because in the end, the thievestook the first Supra. They never stood a chance of taking away what it represented.

Directed by: Paolo Lekai

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