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Toyota Supra Lineup to Include BMW 4-cylinder Turbo

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Lexus LFA had an engine co-developed and built by Yamaha. It arrived preassembled to Lexus to bolt in the LFA. Toyota 86 has an engine from Subaru, with the only exception (I believe) is the direct injection system. It turns out that the Supra will, again, follow in the current Toyota tradition of not developing sports car engines, because it will source them all from BMW.

I have read previously that the Supra will use the straight six, turbo engines from BMW (the current version is the B58). It now turns out that the Supra will also offer 4 cylinder entry level engine options from, you guessed it, BMW. The 4 cylinder, turbo B48 engine makes 255 hp and 295 lb-ft torque in the 3-series, although it will make slightly more in the Supra, according to an internal document from transmission manufacturer ZF. 


The document shows that the very popular ZF 8HP eight speed auto will be paired with the BMW B48 4 cyl turbo in the Supra, where it will make 262 hp, slightly more than the tune in the 3-series. The same transmission will also be paired with the previously confirmed B58 six cylinder engine, where it make be 335 hp, same as the M340i and M440i. Curiously, the B58 engine is expected to make 382 hp in the Z4 M40i, almost 50 hp more than the Supra despite sharing the chassis/platform. I'm not sure if there are mechanical changes or just a different tune. I imagine the Z4 M40i will be more expensive, so BMW may just be trying to further separate that two cars that are closely related. Supra chief engineer Tetsuya Tada also confirmed the four-cylinder option to Road & Track.

A lot of people seem to be turned off by a 4 cylinder Supra. I think if you're a true Supra fan, being codeveloped with another manufacturer and supplier with a complete powertrain provided by others kills any chance of "heritage" to the Supra lineage. The biggest downside here, if you're a Toyota fan, is that Toyota is still not committed to sports cars engine development. I think a better way to look at it upside is that you may be able to get a good BMW two seater chassis with one of the best performing 4 cylinder turbos out there at a discount with a Toyota bade. There are even rumours it might offer a manual, although I wouldn't hold my breath just yet. 

Source: Car and Driver

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