2020 Toyota Supra Vs. Its Competition

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

It’ll not have escaped your notice that Toyota unveiled a new Supra this week in Detroit. We’ve been expecting such a beast since what seems like forever. In fact, during the reveal, Akio Toyoda himself jokingly called it the “worst kept secret.”

Guaranteed there will be plenty of complaints from armchair CEOs and keyboard racers who’ve never turned a wheel on track about the new Supra, with carping bound to range from its lumpy looks to its rating of “only” 335 horsepower.

Your author will reserve judgement on the former until he sees it in person; the latter until he gets behind the wheel. For now, let’s take a practical approach.

Who’s in the Supra’s gunsight? It’s an open secret the Porsche Cayman served at Toyota’s benchmark, a claim made by chief engineer Tetsuya Tada, for several aspects of the program.

The Porsche 718 Cayman (just called the Cayman and powered by a six-cylinder engine back when Supra development began) is equipped as standard with a 300 horsepower boosted flat-four, giving the Supra a 35 hp edge. Keep that in mind when talking heads bemoan the Toyota’s power output, as they surely will. There is a more powerful unit in the Cayman S, adding fifty horses and a whole lot of money. Supra power, then, sits right in the middle.

Toyota estimates the Supra will run to 60 mph from rest in about 4.1 seconds when equipped with the company’s eight-speed automatic, the only transmission available. Porsche estimates a 4.6 second acceleration time for a PDK-equipped Cayman S, 4.4 with the manual. The less powerful non-S Cayman launches itself to 60 mph in about 5.0 seconds. Let the argument of driving involvement vs lightning-quick shifts rage on.

With a claimed 50/50 weight distribution, Supra is on the right track to mimic Cayman’s driving dynamics despite the Porsche having its engine tucked in snugly amidships. Yes, centre of gravity is still a thing and even the Supra must adhere to the laws of physics, but its active differential (which uses an electric motor and multi-plate clutches to control lateral torque) should do wonders.

The biggest kicker? Price. Toyota says the Supra will start at $49,990. Porsche fans can’t even get a sniff of the 718 Cayman for that amount, with the P-car starting at $56,900. And good luck trying to find a no-options Cayman at any dealer. Adding the S suffix jacks the Porsche’s sticker to $69,300. That’s a premium of twenty grand; assuming the thing drives well, we will likely be writing articles about how the Supra is a value play in its segment before the year is over.

Despite the company making many overtures about how they’ve tuned and fettled the Supra themselves, there remains a solid connection to BMW. Whether potential buyers see this as a good or bad thing remains to be seen. Check out the tag visible in the door jamb of this press image – “Mfd by Bayerische Motoren Werke” is on display for all to see. For better or worse, there is no doubting this car’s heritage. The “W” which leads the VIN is expected, naturally.

Minor aside: Toyota lists the estimated curb weight of the new Supra at 3397 lbs. The GVWR shown on that door sticker is 4,012 lbs. If you and your passenger are Large Persons, pack lightly.

Other competitors for the 2020 Supra? The 2019 BMW M240i Coupe arrives at the party with a 3.0L turbocharged inline-six, 335 hp, and a starting price of $45,800. Acceleration to 60 mph is about half-a-second adrift of the Supra estimate.

A V6-equipped Jag F-Type also makes for a pretty good foil on paper, with similar power figures but performance far behind the Supra if manufacturer estimates are to be believed. Jag itself pegs 0-60 times for the cheapest V6 F-Type at 5.5 seconds. By that time, the Supra should be in the next area code. Toyota shoppers will also find themselves nearly $20,000 to the good as a 340 hp rear-drive stickshift F-Type starts at $68,850.

It all comes down to, of course, how the Supra acquits itself when driven in anger. Keep an eye out for first-drive impressions over the next few months. Until then, which of these four performance coupes is your pick? The 2020 Z4 M40i and its 382 hp turbo inline-six, by the way, hasn’t been priced yet, but is expected to land in the mid-$60k range.

I’m simply glad not to be talking about yet another milquetoast crossover.

[Images: Toyota]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Lightspeed Lightspeed on Jan 19, 2019

    This will be out of production in 5-years when the BMW-style warranty claims, and/or repair bills start coming home to roost. Ironic given the 5-year long 'introduction' of the car. Toyota will say, "it was only meant to renew our 'heritage.'" BMW will say, "Those idiots at Toyota screwed around with our immaculate engineering." One generation and done.

  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Jan 28, 2019

    Uh it looks like someone punched it in the rear quarter panel and gave it a fat lip. Shame because from the front to the A pillar doesn't look too bad. Those front seats look really familiar having just visited my Buick dealer this past weekend on a Regal GS. Shame about the BMW mechanicals. I think I'll stick to the Stang/Camaro/Chally in that order when looking for my next muscle ride.

  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
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