Toyota Explains Why The New Supra Is Powered By BMW

The fifth-generation Supra will borrow additional hardware from the new Z4 roadster.

Toyota Supra Prototype

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

Dec 19, 2018 at 6:42am ET

Add Motor1.com as a preferred source in Google

Comment

Toyota’s decision to team up with BMW for the Supra/Z4 joint project raised quite a few eyebrows when it was announced many years ago. The road to the car’s official reveal has been painstakingly long and we are still a few weeks away from the A90’s debut in Detroit. When it will arrive at NAIAS, under the hood of the fifth-generation Supra there’s going to be a BMW engine. In an interview with Automotive News Europe, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada explained the reasoning behind the decision to source the heart of the Supra from another automaker.

Revealed:

2020 Toyota Supra: Live From The Detroit Auto Show

2020 Toyota Supra Pricing Starts At $49,990 In U.S.

2020 Toyota Supra Debuts With 335 HP After A Decade Of Foreplay [UPDATE]

When Toyota decided to dust off the legendary “Supra” moniker by approving a new sports car, the first order of business was to secure a straight-six engine. Why? Because customer surveys showed that was a must considering all four previous generations of the car had an inline-six. The easiest way to obtain one was to ink a deal with BMW and grab their 3.0-liter you’ll find in the Z4 M40i as well as in the new M340i. Toyota decided against developing its own straight-six, which although did upset purists, it’s a business move that makes sense considering the Supra won’t be a high-volume car.

2019 BMW Z4 M40i

The engine of Bavarian origins has been tuned by Toyota’s engineers specifically for the Supra, as it’s the case with other BMW-sourced vital hardware, such as the eight-speed transmission and the chassis. Despite sharing more than a few parts, the two companies have promised distinct identities for their sports cars that will go well beyond the different body style. Having seen the new Z4 and a revealing image of the Supra, we know for sure their exterior designs won’t have anything in common.

What do you think?

View

Comments

Getting back to the interview held at a track southwest of Tokyo during a test drive event, Tada hinted future Gazoo Racing models will use engines developed by Toyota’s go-faster division. These will be all-new engines rather than more powerful configurations of existing units, and will likely support electrification for extra boost and lower emissions.

Source: Automotive News Europe

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motor1.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The Motor1.com Team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@motor1.com

View all comments ( )

Popular

12 Crossovers That Are Surprisingly Good At Off-Roading

The Corvette Spent 70 Years Building Its Legacy. There's No Reason To Dilute It Now

Subaru Wants To Save The Gas Engine With A More Efficient Boxer

Honda Secretly Showed Dealers Its Future Models, Including The Element. Here's What They Said

Scout Is Finally Building Real Vehicles At Its $2-Billion Factory