From the classifieds: Supra 22V

Supra, the brand, was formed in Tennessee in 1981 as a ski boat manufacturer, eventually transforming into the production of specialist wake boats.

In the early 2000s, former Australian and US wakeboarding champion Josh Sanders started importing Supra’s boats here and selling them via his Nowra, southern NSW-based wakeboarding business. He still does today.

After a successful start, his association with the Supra brand eventually led to a decision in the early 2010s to import moulds and start building boats here.

Models built here include the Supra 20V, Supra 22V, and the badge-engineered Moomba Outback/Mobius IXL.

The Aussie-built Supra 22V was a pretty sophisticated boat way back then, even by modern standards, and boasted the highest amount of standard equipment of any wake boat on the Australian market.

And even though it was made here in Australia, it was still made to the same exacting standards as the boats formerly imported from the US.

Up front, the playpen lounge included innovative flip-up searching in the access gangway in the middle of the console and even included an insert to convert the space into a large day bed.

Even back then, this space also contained room for optional ballast tanks to the default 650-litre volume to help the Supra 22V create an even larger wake behind it, and room for stowing wakeboards.

In front of the comfortably bolstered driver’s seat was a 6.5-inch colour “Vision System” screen giving push-button control over many of the boat’s functions, including ballast, speed, control over the wake plate, and audio system controls.

The system was able to store 12 preset rider profiles, the boat’s speed used GPS as a reference, and the audio system’s volume automatically increased as speed rose.

Powering the Supra 22V was a 5.7-litre Indmar V8 inboard engine producing up to 340hp. The GPS smarts combined with the huge amount of growl from the big V8 meant all the driver had to do for a rider was to steer in a straight line.

Back in 2012, the Supra 22V was priced from around $92,000, with options such as the 340hp engine upgrade, the “playpen” bow lounge, rear access steps and colourful graphics adding another $20,000 or so to the sticker price.

Supra boats from the early 2010s still command good money these days, a legacy of the build quality, specification and hardiness of the brand.