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2020 Toyota Supra Laps the Nurburgring Nordschleife Faster Than BMW Z4 M40i

Ah, the GR Supra! What some describe as the fixed-head coupe sibling of the BMW Z4 is a far cry from the previous generation of the six-cylinder sports car, starting with the underpinnings and finishing with the look-at-me exterior design clad with fake vents and heat extractors.
2020 Toyota GR Supra Nurburgring onboard lap 35 photos
Photo: Sport Auto on YouTube
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On the other hand, the GR Supra has impressed time and again during independent testing. German magazine Sport Auto has driven the front-engined interloper from Graz, Austria at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and much to the surprise of test driver Christian Gebhardt, the Toyota has crossed the finish line in 7 minutes, 52 seconds, and 17 hundredths of a second.

“What do those numbers mean, then?” For starters, the GR Supra is faster than the M2 Competition (7:52:36) at the world’s most challenging racetrack. The Z4 M40i in the hands of Sport Auto’s resident Christian Gebhardt makes do with 7 minutes, 55 seconds, and 41 hundredths of a second.

There’s no denying the GR Supra is a capable land missile in the right hands, more so if your job title is full-time professional racing driver. On the other hand, the Toyota isn’t on par with the Z4 M40i in U.S. specification as far as horsepower is concerned even though they share the B58.

Introduced in 2015, the inline-six engine with a twin-scroll turbocharger and air-to-liquid intercooler is rated at 340 PS in the case of the GR Supra and 387 PS in the Z4 M40i for North America. The Euro-spec model is good for 340 PS because BMW had to meet the restrictions of the Euro 6d-TEMP standard and Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure.

Over in Germany, the starting price for the GR Supra with the 3.0-iter powerplant is €62,900. That’s more than the Z4 M40i and the M2 Competition, which goes to show that value for money isn’t the forte of this particular Toyota. As for the U.S. market, the most affordable configuration starts at $49,990 excluding destination charge.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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