Can you believe Toyota is still keeping the Supra under wraps? It seems the rumor mill started talking about the J29 eons ago, yet the Japanese automaker is taking its sweet time about it. Nurburgring testing is far from being over, with the fifth generation of the two-door sports coupe expected to arrive at dealers in the first part of 2019.
Today’s spy video, coming courtesy of Automotive Mike, shows a couple of prototypes doing their thing at and around the world’s most challenging racetrack. Both exhibit two vents on the sides of the hood, located next to the wheels. And speaking of wheels, one of the two J29s is equipped with M4 GTS rims.
Listening to the Supra accelerating off from the gas station and on the Green Hell, it’s easy to notice that the gear-shift sound is similar to that of an automatic transmission. We’ve known for quite some time now the J29 could be an auto-only affair, but there’s no consensus on what sort of transmission Toyota decided on.
On the one hand, the G29 Z4-twinned J29 Supra would make a great team with the ZF 8HP that BMW uses in just about every rear-wheel-drive car and sport utility vehicle. But on the other hand, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said something about “a dual-clutch transmission.” Sorry folks, check out the Z4 if you want a stick shift.
Based on a codes list of BMW and Toyota models, the Supra will be offered with the B48 (2.0-liter) and B58 (3.0-liter engines) in various states of tune, ranging from 197 PS (195 horsepower) and 320 Nm (236 pound-feet) to 360 PS (355 horsepower) and 500 Nm (369 pound-feet) of torque. Over at BMW, the Z4 M40i Competition could level up the turbocharged straight-six to 385 PS (380 horsepower).
Gerald Killmann, vice president of research & development at Toyota Europe, claims that the Supra is “mainly developed in Japan” and that it has “very different” chassis tuning compared to the Z4. To be fair, we’ll let the first reviews roll in before taking these statements at face value.
Listening to the Supra accelerating off from the gas station and on the Green Hell, it’s easy to notice that the gear-shift sound is similar to that of an automatic transmission. We’ve known for quite some time now the J29 could be an auto-only affair, but there’s no consensus on what sort of transmission Toyota decided on.
On the one hand, the G29 Z4-twinned J29 Supra would make a great team with the ZF 8HP that BMW uses in just about every rear-wheel-drive car and sport utility vehicle. But on the other hand, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said something about “a dual-clutch transmission.” Sorry folks, check out the Z4 if you want a stick shift.
Based on a codes list of BMW and Toyota models, the Supra will be offered with the B48 (2.0-liter) and B58 (3.0-liter engines) in various states of tune, ranging from 197 PS (195 horsepower) and 320 Nm (236 pound-feet) to 360 PS (355 horsepower) and 500 Nm (369 pound-feet) of torque. Over at BMW, the Z4 M40i Competition could level up the turbocharged straight-six to 385 PS (380 horsepower).
Gerald Killmann, vice president of research & development at Toyota Europe, claims that the Supra is “mainly developed in Japan” and that it has “very different” chassis tuning compared to the Z4. To be fair, we’ll let the first reviews roll in before taking these statements at face value.