autoevolution
 

BMW-Toyota Sportscar Might Arrive in 2017

 Few cars received as much attention as the presumed result of the collaboration between BMW and Toyota. And it wasn’t even yet revealed! That’s only to be expected when we’re talking about the bigger premium manufacturer in the world and the one that sells the most cars.
BMW-Toyota Sportscar rendering 1 photo
Photo: autozeitung
Up until now we’ve heard all sorts of stories: that the Z4 will be replaced by a new car, that Toyota is aiming at making a new Supra with BMW M technology, that there will be several different cars coming out of this whole ordeal but no official answer was provided which, in turn, made people gossip even more.

Now, the guys from Autozeitung started speculating on the matter once again, saying that the BMW model will be using a 3-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder engine while the body of the car will be made mostly out of CFRP and aluminum, to keep the weight as low as possible. Apparently, we’re going to get an i8 with a proper engine underneath. That doesn’t sound bad at all.

The perfect 50:50 weight distribution is, of course, one of the targets to be achieved and yet, one couldn’t help but wonder what’s in it for BMW? After all, they do have the lightweight technology, the powerful 3-liter units from the M3 and M4, why would they need Toyota’s help?

The answer, I think, lies in the hybrid tech the Japanese are developing. Their Prius was a trailblazer no matter what people say and, since then, they made impressive progress both in electrically powered vehicles and in fuel-cell technology. Therefore, my guess is that the new car will be hybrid.

Looking over what’s happening in the hypercar league today, it’s easy to see why. The McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder and the Ferrari LaFerrari are all hybrid cars, using both electric and incredibly powerful conventional engines to make sure you have plenty of grunt at any moment and that the term ‘Turbo Lag’ ceases to be used in any sentence.

A lot of rumors have been going around lately that BMW is preparing a surprise for its 100th anniversary in 2016 and some went as far as saying that we’ll be seeing an M8. While I do find myself grinning at the prospect of seeing such a car come to life, I can’t help but wonder if it couldn’t be exactly this joint-project that we’re discussing here, a true Phoenix that takes BMW even further into the 21st century with not a supercar but a hypercar. Am I dreaming?
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories