Will they? Won’t they? Why not? When already? Those were some of the questions regarding the Supra’s future asked by many since the cancellation of the 4th generation Toyota Supra in 1998 (2002 in other markets). Those questions were finally answered for 2020 when the newest Supra debuted, but with a startling twist. Toyota ended up collaborating with BMW of all makers to bring a set of fraternal twins into the world, the other being the new BMW Z4 roadster. Although more similar than not, the greatest differences are readily visible, someone not in the know would have no idea of the relationship at first.
While it’s billed as a collaboration, it’s hard to see much Toyota input beyond its own body design. There’s also the obvious point that the Supra isn’t a roadster, while the Z4 is only available that way. As such, it’s sort of brilliant, these two are unlikely to be cross-shopped against each other, however the price difference is significant enough (around 20% or more) that if any BMW intender wants what’s essentially a BMW two-seater without the folding top, they should take a serious look at the Toyota.
While the two makers agreed that BMW would basically take care of the engineering and components, Toyota did design their own body. Assembly is handled on neutral ground for both makers by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. It’s easy enough to understand that the market for both of these vehicles isn’t huge, and splitting the volume would make for a win-win situation.
Interestingly there are multiple models available for each with two different (shared) engine options, as of this year with the same power outputs no matter the badge (last year the 6 was less powerful in the Toyota). Supra of course is known for having an inline-6, which BMW does to perfection and also has plenty of experience producing in turbocharged form. Now for 2021 an inline-4 engine, also turbocharged, was added as another option. It’s easy to think of it as “the entry-level one” however as we’ll see it may be the wiser choice overall.
The styling is perhaps a little out there, it’s certainly no shrinking violet and makes a statement. Sort of looking a little like a baby last-generation Viper in profile, it’s low, bulging with muscle, fairly wide, and possesses lots of hood out front. The Turbulence Gray Metallic paint on this one was a good medium gray, never looking too dark or too light and allowing the light to play well with the angles/curves of the car. This is the first Supra to ditch the rear seats entirely, making the transition from grand tourer to track performer, thankfully the hatchback was preserved to at least maintain some practicality.
The front grille area looks a little like a Formula One car with supports for a front wing joining the upper to the lower regions, and the rear haunches are perhaps a little overdone but it’s certainly not anodyne, there will surely be a range of opinions.
More troubling are the array of fake vent inlets and outlets in various parts of the body rendered in black plastic that really have no place on a car such as this and could be removed without losing the overall message (or make them functional). I can’t dislike it though, at least it isn’t just aping old styling cues like many others including the upcoming Z, it’s its own shape and owns it proudly (if perhaps a bit loudly).
Yes, there’s no point in pretending that it’s as easy to climb into as a RAV4, it isn’t, and the difficulty factor is likely directly proportional to age and fitness level. But even I at 6’1″ managed it fairly gracefully, only requiring a slight turtle-like retracting of the head to get it in under the roofline. (Getting out though usually involved a hand on the sill area for a boost).
Once inside though, while there isn’t a huge amount of room laterally, there is lots of headroom. The double bubble roof allowed my 32″ inseam and the rest of me at least a couple of inches between the noggin and headliner, while the BMW engineers clearly had some lanky fellows on board to allow the seat to move way further back than I needed it to be.
The view dead ahead is great with lots of visible hood and fender, the front pillars are a little too close thus making them appear larger than they are (and blocking more of the view in that direction than preferred, not uncommon these days), but the side view is a little shallow. It’s not evident from the outside but from inside the upper side window line is a couple of inches lower than that of the windshield, requiring a slight ducking to see out if long of torso or not particularly reclined in the seat, sort of the effect I get when wearing a flat-brimmed hat, which I thus don’t do. The view rearwards is excellent but the 3/4 rear not so much, still, not as horrible as in some far larger vehicles.
One sits low but it doesn’t seem to be fully stretched out somehow. The cabin is clearly all BMW parts and pretty much all black in color (not grayish as it may appear) but somewhat less “techy” looking than most current BMW models and the better for it. It’s not trying too hard, rather what is there exists for a reason. The quality of plastics and switchgear is a step up from the usual Toyota fare and helps justify the pricing and sense of occasion as well.
The seats are covered in a combination of leather and Alcantara (the brand name of a suede-like material) with red and gray stitching. Very comfortable and grippy too, manually adjustable in this one but with 4-way electric lumbar as well as a button that causes the upper bolsters to squeeze closer together, an excellent feature for a car sold to people aged 18-81 or whatever with various different body shapes. More vehicles with sporting intent should offer this, it does a lot to hold one in place and makes the seats more comfortable overall.
The gauge cluster is different from BMW’s version with a tach placed front and center and the road speed displayed digitally to the side along with various bits of info accessible via the trip computer selector button on a stalk. Easily readable with good contrast and no nonsense. Center dash is a display screen that uses BMW’s iDrive system complete with the knob controller and surrounding menu buttons on the horizontal part of the console.
Navigation, JBL audio system (via Toyota, usually BMW uses Harman Kardon), and vehicle settings are all done using this. Not as intuitive as a regular touch screen, this is probably the one aspect that may annoy Toyota fans, there is a learning curve, although the screen can actually be used via touch as well.
HVAC functions are easy to access and adjust just below the row of vents and preset button module, while to the left of the steering wheel is a small button cluster for the lighting options with Auto as the largest and most central button. Cruise control is handled via the steering wheel which also contains redundant (to the iDrive) audio controls.
At the base of the center stack is a small cubby, no wireless charging mat but enough space for a phone, then the shifter, monostatic with a manual gate whose function can also be duplicated via shift paddles behind the wheel. A few buttons to engage Sport mode and assist functions along with the Active Stop/Start override switch are also housed within the genuine carbon fiber shell covering this portion of the console. While it looks it, there is not a bin under the elbow rest, which instead also houses the cup holders without getting in the way of elbows although the cargo area (and two large speakers mounted in the floor) are accessible by reaching towards the back.
That cargo area is larger than it first appears, while the hatch opens manually via an electric release, there is a bunch of space internally on either side of the opening and while the area is not particularly deep vertically it seems enough for this type of car. The shade is hinged in the middle so only the rear-most part lifts up but the front portion can also be unclipped from the edges.
Firing up the BMW supplied turbo-4 is as easy as pushing the starter button upon which it jumps to life with a healthy but completely socially acceptable roar. Producing 255hp @5,000 rpm and 295lb-ft of torque @1550rpm via its twin scroll turbo, I believe this is the same engine that I reviewed in the BMW 430i xDrive Coupe a few months ago. As there, it’s amazingly smooth but seems endowed with a bit different character, certainly with a different aural signature in Sport mode.
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“The styling is perhaps a little out there, it’s certainly no shrinking violet and makes a statement.”
Certainly a DIPLOMATIC way of putting it! Or one might say it is simply a tortured set of surfaces trying to hang together; just one retired designer’s opinion of the visuals.
I must admit this is one vehicle that a achromatic, non-descript, boring gray is a fine choice of paint. Your pictures are excellent and certainly define the formS on the vehicle!!………. DFO
You said it all! A current designer’s opinion….
Why so damn ugly? That rear spoiler looks like a fat lip. And why is Toyota incapable of doing a sporty car by itself?
Development costs vs (expected) global sales numbers, I assume. They’re certainly not incapable, given their latest, superior hot hatch.
“And why is Toyota incapable of doing a sporty car by itself?”
They’ll build one when you and me and enough other people buy one so they can turn a profit after the development costs.
For the past 8 years they’ve been offering RWD F-Sport and full-fledged V8 F Lexus models as well.
I find it a little puzzling that Toyota would go halfsies with another company to build this car. It would seem to go against much of the ethos of “traditional” Toyota in ceding control for much of the car’s content. For a company that has been as obsessive about quality as Toyota, relying on someone else to keep your customers happy seems odd. Not to mention at the dealerships where this car is sure to be a bit of a bastard in the service bays.
But then they must have figured that the value of having a car in this niche for a relatively low cost is worth it. Also, it would be interesting to do a side-by-side test of cars with both powerplant options.
I cannot say that this one appeals to me, but then cars in this segment have not appealed to me in a very long time (if ever). So whatever my opinions might be, they are not the ones Toyota should be paying attention to. So it will be interesting to see how this car goes over with its intended market.
I had the same thought – Why would Toyota, with its reputation for long-term reliability, which is much harder to accomplish than initial quality, partner with a company whose initial quality has improved but whose long-term reliability is much less certain? About the only argument for this car (and granted its a big one) is that buying the Supra will save a lot of dosh over the essentially identical Bavarian.
I wonder though how many Toyota fans will be willing to roll the dice on a rebadged BMW. On the other hand, will BMW shoppers think that the Toyota version dilutes the brand with respect to this model? It could be a win-win or a lose-lose, I suppose.
Postscript –
According to goodcarbadcar.net, Toyota has moved about 4500 Supra’s in 2021 in the US, as opposed to a bit less than 900 BMW Z4’s sold, FWIW.
Toyota has been offering rebadged PSA vans since 2013. These days, compact and mid-size cargo vans (both models are also available as MPV).
Car-wise, the Auris, Avensis and Verso were offered with a 1.6 liter BMW turbodiesel.
I know that none of them were/are sold in North America, but it’s still the same Toyota company.
I find it a little puzzling that Toyota would go halfsies with another company to build this car. It would seem to go against much of the ethos of “traditional” Toyota in ceding control for much of the car’s content.
They dd the same thing with Subaru with the GT86/BRZ.
It’s what it takes to make a profit on a low volume model. and Toyota does like to make a profit on all of their lines.
Fair point, but I think that Subaru is a fair bit closer to Toyota in reliability these days, as compared to BMW. I know Subi’s had head gasket issues at one point but I think that is pretty far in the rearview.
Whoops – According to JD Power, I’m wrong! For 2021, oyota beats BMW, but BMW beats Subaru!
The real issue is that unlike say 10 or 20 years ago, essentially all the major car makers have a very high level of reliability. It’s just not an issue with something like this.
The absolute difference between the “best” and “worst” makers from a reliability standpoint is likely far smaller than it has been historically.
Someone spending $50k or whatever on a fairly niche sports car is perhaps a little more tolerant of a few extra dealer visits spread over a few years, it’s a different mindset, it’s also probably not their only car. The buyer of a Supra is unlikely to be the same buyer that has a Corolla Hybrid and a Tacoma in the garage and perhaps is more of an “enthusiast” to begin with, part and parcel of that seems to be being more in tune with the machine as a whole rather than just a transportation pod. Those keeping it for a long time likely understand that and those just looking for the latest shiny thing won’t be in it long enough to care or worry about it.
And lastly, unlike that Corolla or Tacoma the owner is far less likely to be racking up a couple of hundred thousand miles on it in a decade, if ever. No, this likely won’t be as tolerant of neglect as those have historically been, but perhaps doesn’t need to be. A sports car purchase is usually far more about the passion of the drive and all that jazz than someone crunching spreadsheets and tallying CR dots to determine the best commuter car. I doubt many people in the upper midwest worried about rust issues on older Mazdas when they selected a Miata over a Mercury Capri.
This car could in theory have been marketed as a Lexus too, the quality and finish are certainly there. But they already got their fancy sportscar a few years ago, the uber-expensive LF-A and it doesn’t really fit the brand, while the Supra name carries a lot of equity that would be lost as a Lexus. It is a bit of an outlier, granted, but better any Supra than no Supra at all and nobody should be complaining about the performance, having two engines is just icing on the Strudel.
I reckon that’s spot-on. For Toyota, the numbers sold are rounding-error level. In ten years time when this Toyota is behaving in the atrocious manner of a ten-year old BMW, it’ll be in the hands of hope-over-experience enthusiasts who’ll know the deal. Bad as the car will assuredly be, it won’t hurt Toyota brand equity a zot.
Great review and pictures, as usual. I haven’t checked yet if I can afford one, but I’ll stick to my oldie, for the time being anyway.
The latest edition looks like a modern interpretation of a TVR. Not a bad thing, IMO.
Yes, that’s it, TVR!
But that IS a bad thing, IMO – and actually, the TVR looks considerably better anyway – but at least TVR had the excuse of having no money and working in shoddy fibreglass!
I’d rather find a mint condition, low mileage 1998 Supra (if even possible today).
Oh, it’s possible. It’ll just cost you between $75,000 and $200,000 for a turbo model, depending on how minty you want you mint it to be:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1995-toyota-supra-28/
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1995-toyota-supra-38/
Toyota looks and BMW guts, that seems like a less than stellar combo. Not being
in the target market (ie someone who cares in the slightest about either going fast or
impressing anyone) what do I know?
BMW has long been good at taking its standard kit and technology and massaging them into a different personality, for another brand. It’s done that with Land Rover (specifically the 2003-2005 “L322” Range Rover), MINI, Rolls-Royce, and now Toyota.
The funniest thing about the Supra seems to be the mix of F-era and G-era BMW switchgear and components. The steering-wheel and climate-control button packs are clearly previous-era. Meanwhile, the favorites buttons and the light control panel are current. I’m not sure if this was because Toyota balked at the costs for some of the newer stuff, or was a deliberate effort on BMW’s part to keep the car’s feeling separate. Some identity pieces, like the infotainment bezel surround, gear selector, and instrument panel, were resculpted specifically for the Toyota.
Notably, the Supra uses iDrive 6, instead of iDrive 7, which the Bimmer family is currently on. And despite BMW implementing their latest two-note chime suite on iDrive 5, the Supra’s version of iDrive 6 uses the old 2002-2016 “gong” chimes.
Another excellent review about a car I’d otherwise not be as informed about, in terms of how it feels and goes.
Although I understand the move away from manuals, you’ve made a very compelling case for one here.
As to its styling, the F&F crowd will be challenged to modify this one to their liking; it’s already been done.
Thank you! I kept thinking back to my old 911, having the manual in that made such a difference to the entire experience. While it wasn’t necessarily always fun in traffic or the commute, that isn’t the reason for having that car (or this one), and when the opportunity to use it to its fullest came up it was a godsend. I can stomp on the pedal in any car, but to actually “control” it, well, the involvement is a big part of it, to me at least.
Never underestimate the F&F crowd! That duckbill spoiler leaves lots of room for something far larger atop it…and there’s lots of sheetmetal for more vents!
I could live with the styling, I could live with the scrunchy rear 3/4 visibility, I could live with the infamous windows-down buffeting, but the manual kills it for me*. More than in the 3 Series, more than in a compact pickup, more than in a Honda Accord, this is the type of car where a manual is most complementary to the car’s character and ostensible mission.
*Actually, the price does. It’s out of my range. So my opinion really doesn’t matter.
Like the C8 Vette and GT350R, the “automatic transmission” just drives you nuts at times.
Just like automatic headlights!
Thank you for the objective review, Jim!
Unnecessary overwrought styling. The interior looks okay. Reliability of a BMW. Why bother? Might as well get the genuine BMW. Yes, it’s more expensive but at least it doesn’t look like it fell from the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Plus BMW is a roadster.
I’m glad you pointed out the F1 car connection, as it does help to make some sense of what they’ve tried to do. I’m sure too that those who’ll fork out for it get it, and Toyota rarely put a foot wrong in judging a market.
Doesn’t make it any more competent as a sheer piece of design, mind. There are fibreglass kits better than this. Oddly enough, what it reminds me of is a design on the way to a design, like the Ghandini Jag of the other day: whatever idea is driving it is as yet immature.
At least the 86 still has a manual and saves you a lot of money over the Supra. Sure, different targets and such…but unless you’re out to impress people with your wallet, wouldn’t the manual 86 be more fun to play around with?
The 2.0-litre is due to arrive in South Africa very soon, and I can’t wait to try one out for size when it lands. I loved the lower-output 3.0 when I reviewed it in 2019, but couldn’t help but wonder if the lighter 4-cylinder version would have been even better to drive.
https://www.autotrader.co.za/cars/reviews/toyota/gr-supra/toyota-gr-supra-3.0t-review/6060
I have not driven one but seen a few out and about now. They stuck me as physically smaller than I thought they’d be. The styling is interesting and distinctive. Maybe not a classical beauty.
The automatic only would be a deal killer for me (not that I am in the market) but I am glad it exists.
Fantastic article and photos by the way.
Thanks! Yeah, the size thing is true, before I ever saw one in real life I figured them to be at least 10% larger than they really are…