Say, have you heard? There’s a new Toyota Supra in town, reviving a legendary nameplate that’s sat dormant in the drawer marked “Defunct Sportscars from the Once-Great Toyota” for the last decade-and-a-half. One would think this would be cause for celebration, but all throughout the car’s development, sentiments were mixed.
That’s because where the last Toyota Supra was powered by a robust, overbuilt inline-six named “2JZ”, and underpinned by a chassis entirely of Toyota’s design, the new, fifth-generation car was revealed early on to be the product of an engineering partnership between Toyota and BMW. Oh great, much of the motoring world thought sarcastically. Just like the Toyota 86 is really a Subaru underneath, the all-new Supra is just going to be a reskinned, rebadged BMW Z4, inline-six and all.

Photo: Toyota
But if the early reviews are to be believed, the all-new Toyota Supra is, nonetheless, a pretty swell little sportscar. (And worth noting is the fact that reportedly, Toyota’s engineers split off from BMW’s fairly early in the process, and each car will have its own, unique powertrain and suspension tuning; it matters little that both the Supra and the Z4 share a platform and an engine.) Knowing that, the Chevrolet Camaro team should take notice; the 2019 Toyota Supra could prove a worthy competitor.
Toyota hasn’t revealed exact performance figures, saying only that peak power output is greater than 300 horsepower, peak torque more than twice the 156 lb-ft put out by the Toyota 86, and the sprint from 0 to 60 mph will consume less than 5 seconds, according to Road & Track. The specs of the 2019 BMW Z4 might give us a clearer idea of what to expect. That car produces up to 382 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, reaching 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds.

Photo: Toyota
Compare that to the pre-facelift Chevrolet Camaro SS, which put out a hefty 455 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque with its 6.2-liter small-block LT1 V8, but in manual form, could only reach 60 mph about a tenth of a second quicker – although the automatic version was capable of reaching that speed in as little as 4.0 seconds.
But making a properly good sportscar is about more than just delivering strong performance stats, of course, and the 2019 Toyota Supra’s subjective qualities could help it contend with the likes of the Camaro. Writing for Road & Track, Bob Sorokanich called the car “playful and engaging,” saying it was “more than happy to pivot” and that the engine “feels decidedly un-turbocharged,” with torque that comes on quickly and lasts all the way until redline.
What do you think? Could you ever be persuaded to forgo the Chevrolet Camaro in favor of the all-new, 2019 Toyota Supra? Let us know in the comments section below.
Comments
Only thing that may hurt this car is the price. Some articles have said it will be around the 50k price starting.
It’s built by Magna in Austria, so this is going to be expen$ive. I really think that with sensible options it will be a $70k car, which pitches it against the Corvette, not the Camaro.
Let me think, same price for 365hp car with the engine and gearbox up front, same price as a 460hp car with a transaxle. And a racing history with Fehan, Binks, Fellows and O’Connell.
Easy choice that one.
This car is barely a Toyota. The reviewers like it because it runs like a BMW, drives like a BMW, and outside of the body and a few interior tweaks it is a BMW.
We all know how most auto journalists slobber all over BMW and make grand excuses for them even when the model they’re reviewing doesn’t live up to their expectations.
To me this vehicle just shows how far Toyota has really gotten away from sports cars when they don’t even have faith in the platform they use to underpin the Lexus RC. Even less faith by using a BMW drive train over the well established reliability record Toyota supposedly is regarded for.
Overall, I’m sure it’s fun to drive, but I don’t think Camaro or Mustang has anything to worry about.
Toyota, who claims they are such an amazing large company, cant even make a simple sports car again that is in their heritage without the help of the much smaller BMW. Essentially this is a BMW with Toyota nameplates.
Also funny how the Japanese claim proudly their internal staff and “Japanese way” leads to great engineering success. So, why could you not make a sports car again, Toyota? Why partner with BMW? Just like the Japanese government always wants American fighter plane tech to supposedly build planes…They want to reverse engineer what they cannot produce themselves.
why did BMW partner with toyota? did you ever ask yourself that?
you really think toyota couldn’t design/manufacture a sports car in-house? that is delusional.
it comes down to cost. the same reason there are rumors mercedes/nissan will collaborate on the next z.
“Toyota, who claims they are such an amazing large company, cant even make a simple sports car again that is in their heritage”
Lexus LFA
Lexus RC-F
Lexus LC-F
You didn’t even frigging try to use your last remaining brain cells, did you?
I bet you’re so dense, you’ll want to pipe up and point out that Lexus isn’t Toyota just so you’ll think you’ve ‘won’.
Both Toyota and BMW are world class manufacturers with world class engineering departments. GM can’t even compete with Kia in Russia. GM is doomed to barely hang on with it’s 50% joint ventures in China and losing market share in it’s home market all while top management pays itself millions until we the taxpayer have to bail them out again. Pathetic.
No I won’t buy a supra it is not a Chevy. Mustang is a gorgeous car but it’s not a Chevy so I won’t buy that Either.
even when the supra was out, It wasn’t really a car people thought of when it came to sporty cars. Example… I got a new Camaro z28! Nice!!! I got a Mustang GT! Oh cool! I got a Nissan 300zx twin turbo! Oh I heard they are awesome! I got a new Toyota supra! Oh… well at least it’s a new car bud! 50k for a sporty toyota or more? Go get a Mustang GT or Camaro SS.
Uhh, No.
Uh yes. And wrong boooya
at this stage in their product cycles, nobody is that excited about mustangs and camaros. they are commonplace.
just the fact that the supra has been absent for 15 years, it is automatically going to garner more attention and interest.
i hope when the camouflage is taken off, the supra looks more like the ft-1 concept but i don’t think that will be the case.
Making a properly good sportscar is about more than just delivering strong performance stats, of course, and the 2019 Toyota Supra’s subjective qualities could help it contend with the likes of the Camaro.
This is what is wrong with the perception of performance cars, they need to be focused on performance first then creature comforts!
Competition improves the breed.. as the introduction of the 2019 Toyota Supra will force Chevrolet to continue developing the Camaro and try squeezing out as much performance and efficiency as possible.
This is not a Pony Car and no one considering a Camaro, Mustang or Challenger is even going to think about this car.
Then there’s the 7:16.04 thing!
Good luck!
Would you consider the Genesis coupe a pony car?
No, do you?
But with today’s diluted automotive classes some might. The Ridgeline is considered to be a pick up truck, full size by some!
Point is, every new car or truck that comes out is not targeting a GM vehicle as so many articles on this site imply.
Do you think Toyota has the Camaro as this car competition?