This is the new fifth generation Toyota Supra
or the Toyota Gazoo Racing Supra,
to give it its full name that nobody will ever use.
It's the car we've been waiting for ever since Toyota showed us
the FT1 concept of the Detroit Motor Show in 2014.
And it's here at last on UK roads.
I've got the key in my hand, I've got a spring day to myself
and as you can probably tell I'm a little bit excited.
Before we get to the driving bit though some background.
Whereas back in the 90s its predecessor was an absurdly powerful thing,
a match for the mid-engine Ferrari 348 of its day,
the new car's output of 335 horsepower has stayed roughly the same.
That means the Supra is no longer a supercar killer
but a rival to less exotic but no less talented stuff like the Porsche Cayman,
BMW M2 and our Alpine A110.
What hasn't changed is the trusty Supra formula.
So, turbocharged straight-6 engine in the front,
rear-wheel drive, a proper sportscar chassis,
and this gorgeous curvy bodywork draped over the top.
In performance terms then this is the bigger brother to the GT86,
but it's actually a shorter car with a shorter wheelbase
because the aim here is more aggression and more agility.
As a result, it's moved to a two-seater layout
but you do get a boot big enough for your dog.
Unlike its predecessors that were designed, engineered and built in Japan
and infused with that intangible Japanese madness
the new supra has been co-developed with the BMW Z4,
which is that car over here.
Both of these have the same engine, the same 8-speed automatic gearbox,
the same platform, suspension, hardware, large chunks of the interior
they'll even be built on the same production line in Austria.
So, for those of you out there accusing the poor Supra
of being just a rebodied and retuned Z4,
I'm looking at you Mr. Harris... Yeah, yeah, you've got a point.
The question is, "Is that really a problem?"
I'm afraid now is the time to pick a side. My prediction is this.
The diehard petrol heads and long time Supra fans will be appalled
that Toyota has accepted such enormous chunks of BMW hardware
for the return of a bad split lies at the epicentre
of Japanese performance car culture.
On the flip side most will just shrug their shoulders
and thank their lucky stars that anyone is prepared to build a car like this
in this climate and just roll with it.
After all, if you don't have your own straight-6 engine
who better to borrow one off than BMW, right?
Allow me point out the obvious.
The Z4 and the Supra are different cars.
This a soft-top roadster, this a hardtop coupe.
The BMW has a softer, more middle-of-the-road appeal
which is a nice way of saying, a face only a mother could love.
Whereas the Supra with its aggressive front end and muscular haunches
is clearly aimed more at the enthusiast.
Now, maybe it's flashes of the granddaddy itself, the 2000 GT, in that long bonnet,
or bits of the old suit for the A80 in the front and rear end styling,
or the utter insanity of that multi-tiered rear end.
Either way the BMW just doesn't talk to me it,
it doesn't mean anything to me.
Whereas the Supra styling, well, it does.
First things first and you might want to brace yourself for this.
There is quite a lot of BMW in here.
The Infotainment screen, the graphics on the Infotainment screen,
the switchgear here, the climate control system,
the entire iDrive controller,
the steering wheel right in front of you, the key. Yeah, all BMW.
Oh, Toyota has designed its own rev counter right in front of you,
so there is that, but here's the thing.
We can get upset or we can be thankful
because I'm telling you the quality and the longevity of this cabin
is a whole lot better than the plasticky GT86.
It's just, did Toyota have to be quite so obvious about it?
The engine then. It is a turbo 3-litre straight-six, shared with the Z4 M40i,
producing 369 pounds-feet of torque and 335 horsepower
between 5000 and six and a half thousand RPM,
although there's not much reward for going past 6000.
The transmission is a familiar 8-speed ZF auto.
UK cars have a limited slip differential as standard
and it weighs under 1500 kilos.
Toyota claims 0 to 62 in 4.3 seconds which is quicker than the M2 Competition,
the Cayman GTS, and the Alpine A110, so this is not a slow car.
But there are a few things to mention.
Toyota claims that it's tuned this engine itself
but it revs, it sounds, and it feels exactly like a BMW.
In fact, I bet if you blindfolded yourself and drove this car,
which I can't possibly recommend by the way,
you would think you were in a BMW.
The gearbox too isn't perfect, this 8-speed ZF Auto.
A Porsche PDK, for example, is a little bit snappier.
But make no mistake, this is a powertrain of distinction.
It's smooth, it's punchy it's sophisticated,
in a way that a four-cylinder engine just can't be.
Listen to the way the engine note hardens between five and a half and 6000 RPM.
Did you hear that? Let's do it again.
Oh, that is superb, but it is strangely familiar.
Look, in a world where 600 horsepower super saloons are becoming the norm
I love the way that you can use this car's performance on roads like this.
You can rev it out it's actually useable.
I've even come up with a phrase for this: This car is realistically rapid.
In terms of handling it just feels sure-footed, broad-shouldered
stable on the road and plenty of other clichés if I can think of them.
Basically, this car strikes a really nice balance
between responsiveness and refinement.
Toyota even says the bodyshell of this car is stiffer than the Lexus LFA hypercar.
So, it's not messing around.
Basically, it will do big smoky third gear drifts on track all day long,
but there's a level of comfort here that suggests this is a road car at heart.
Unusually for electronics obsessed modern cars,
there were only two driving modes: normal and sport.
The latter sharpens the throttle map and changes the shift pattern,
adds steering weight, tweaks the diff, firms up the dampers,
and uncorks some extra noise from the exhaust.
The ESP has a middle track setting or can be switched off completely
if you're feeling a bit hanging.
Now I know there are literally thousands of tuners waiting in the wings
to drop in there 2JZ engines with a gazillion horsepower,
and turn this into a tyre shredding drift machine,
but as it is on face value this car really does hit a sweet spot
of real-world performance.
My heart is telling me to dislike it for just being a BMW in drag,
but my head is telling me I quite like the costume
The truth is all this unashamed BMW part sharing
is just a reality of the modern profit driven car industry.
If you can find a way to see past all that
you'll find that Toyota has built an extremely capable car
with all the Supra touch points.
Prices that start at, what, just under 53 grand.
Yeah, that's quite a lot of money and the waiting list will be sizeable.
But any manufacturer that can find a way to build a small petrol-powered coupé
in this climate has to be applauded, right?
Even one that's sold part of its Japanese soul for a German one.