It’s no secret that BMW and Toyota have worked together to bring to market the latest iterations of the iconic Z4 and Supra models. First news of the collaboration arrived in 2015 when the two companies signed an extensive agreement. At the time, officials from BMW and Toyota said that there will be a joint platform used to create both cars. The platform will be scalable and will be able to create two different sports cars in two different segments.
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But what exactly would be shared by the two projects has never been officially communicated. Until now. At the recent Toyota Supra prototype drives, Toyota project’s assistant engineer, Masayuki Kai, said that, like the Z4, the Supra also gets the eight-speed ZF transmission and BMW’s electronic M differential.
Even though Kai won’t confirm the powerplant under the hood, it is an open secret that the Supra uses the 3.0-liter inline-six engine version of the twin-scroll, single-turbo B58 found in the new Z4.
Inside the car, under the cover, journalists were able to spot buttons and controls designed by BMW.
Toyota wants to emphasize that, despite having some shared components, the new Supra is still very much so a Japanese project.
“We agreed on the packaging,” Kai said, “like where is the hip-point of the driver, what’s the wheelbase, the width, where’s the fuel tank, where’s the A-pillar, this was around the middle of 2014… After that we completely separated our team. After that, no communication with each other.”
Yet, the collaboration on the Supra-Z4 project continues.
“For future development, we are now planning and we are discussing this with BMW. What our wishes are and… for facelift and future versions, extra versions, they are also providing us what could be the next update on transmission, engine and so on. It’s not finished.”
Whether the two cars have similar driving dynamics, remains to be seen, but we will have a chance to test the new Z4 in the near future, and hopefully, we will get behind the Supra for a fair comparison.
Our Note: What we do know from our own sources is that the collaboration was somewhat challenging, mostly because of the different manufacturing processes and approach to engineering cars.
Probably 95% ;)
They don’t seem to think so :)
Sure, they won’t tell. Toyota wants to sell it as their own and that is obviously nonsense:D
Since both brands are @ the top of the food chain & respect each other enough to procreate new product, who cares? Both models are superior to what the Nissan/Mercedes collaboration have produced – sports cars>pick-ups!
Interior is all BMW Engine, Drivetrain, suspension, brakes. Even down to the door handles and mirrors are all BMW. Only thing new is the revised B58 with integrated Exhaust manifold, same as Z4.
Yeah, just like my F60 MINI Countryman looks nothing like an F48 X1, yet shares everything.😉
Top Gear review said even X2 is engineered to drive differently from X1, I can tell differences between identical models depending how they’re equipped – after, 4 cyl. 3 Series has been same platform as M3 for decades.
It is engineered a bit different, but most of the things are identical.
There is much more of BMW than Toyota in that Toyota skinned car.
So glad it’s not other way around. The Supra is more BMW than Toyota, no matter how they ‘wish’ to see it.
What I want to know is why Lexus couldn’t give a helping hand to their parent company. I understand there is no Inline 6 in the companies engine portfolio, but surely the interior switch-gear could have been developed in-house.
Has Toyota gone so far down the economy rabbit hole that they can’t develop any high-quality interior components?
The interesting thing is what a Japanese tuning ethos can do with German components. The reviews all seem to favor the handling, balance and poise of the Supra over the Z4 and other BMW performance cars.