Photo : Justin Westbrook

No more leaks. No more teasers. No more camouflage. At long last the all-new 2020 Toyota Supra is here to revive a storied nameplate, and even if it’s a BMW underneath now it’s still packing turbocharged inline-six power, rear-wheel drive and aggressive looks.




You probably know the back story by now, but I’ll touch on that in a bit anyway. In the meantime here’s what’s important: 335 horsepower, 365 lb-ft of torque, eight-speed paddle shift automatic only, and an impressive estimated zero to 60 mph time of 4.1 seconds. Top speed is limited to 155 mph, and weight comes in at 3,397 pounds. That makes it the quickest Toyota-brand car to date, apparently.




Interestingly, at 335 HP, it’s actually less powerful than the U.S. market 2019 BMW Z4 with which it shares a platform and engine. That car’s rated at 382 HP here, but at 335 HP in Europe and other markets.

Then there’s pricing: $50,920 for the base car, $54,920 for the Premium, including destination charge. The Premium gets you a JBL 12-speaker audio system, a HUD and the leather seats. The Launch Edition’s $56,180, is limited to 1,500 cars and has red accents outside and a red leather interior. And as we had heard before, this Supra’s not built in Japan, but in Austria by Magna Steyr.



All other photos: Toyota


The Launch Edition Supra.


The car will arrive in two trims: 3.0 and 3.0 Premium, and the latter will have a special Launch Edition. The Premium gets you will feature heated leather-trimmed seats, and the Launch Edition is slightly even fancier than that.



It’s also called the 2020 GR Supra in a news release, but it’s unclear if Toyota will really use the Gazoo Racing branding here in the U.S. (Update: I checked with a Toyota rep, and yes, the car will use the GR brand here in America. Several new cars will, especially those who are CEO Akio Toyoda’s special projects, like this one.)


In a news release in Europe, Toyota calls the new car’s design “Condensed Extreme.” That means the focus was on a short wheelbase, big wheels, a wide stance, and a long, low hood.

Regardless of any kind of specs, for many enthusiasts everywhere, this has been a long time coming.




The most famous Supra, the MKIV or A80, was discontinued in America in 1998 and everywhere in 2002 amid tightening emissions standards, Japan’s recession and a globally declining sports car market. Its return has been the stuff of car magazine (and later, car blog) rumors almost ever since, including whispers of a hybrid or even mid-engine successor.




In 2012 Toyota announced a sports car joint venture with BMW, and years of spy shots and more rumors followed until the 2019 BMW Z4 was finally unveiled last summer. Since then its rollout has been almost excruciating—one spy shot and leak and exhaust clip and pricing tidbit and misplaced tweet after another. Just give us the damn car already, every fan seemed to scream. We even drove a prototype back in September, still wearing camouflage.


The Supra and Z4 share nearly all components, including a 3.0-liter twin-scroll turbo inline six BMW engine (the code is B58, for all you nerds), a BMW platform and an eight-speed automatic gearbox. A four-cylinder Z4 is coming soon and the same motor is anticipated for the Supra as well.


Update: In Japan we have specs on the four-cylinder motor, and it’s 2.0-liter unit that comes in two forms—one with 255 HP and one with 194 HP. It’s also lighter at about 3,100 pounds, though it’s unclear which version will come to the U.S. My guess is the former.

Pricing for the four-cylinder Supra has not been announced.


But as much as we enjoy a good BMW convertible, it’s been the Supra that’s commanded the lion’s share of attention—and rightfully so. Over the past 20 years it’s evolved from being just the Toyota brand’s last flagship sport coupe to a tuner legend, with modders and drag racers everywhere frequently building up its 2JZ-GTE inline six to four-digit horsepower levels.

The original Supra was a potent grand tourer—albeit a heavy one—but it really came into its own when people started messing with it.




This new Supra is a different animal. For one, it’s a two-seater like the Z4 is, unlike every Supra that’s come before it. It has iDrive because it’s a BMW! It’s smaller and lighter than its predecessor, and this time around it was benchmarked against the Porsche Cayman and Boxster. It seems to be more of a purer sports car than last time, although we’re positive the tuners will have fun with it just as they did the smaller Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT86.




The question is this: Will it drive too much like a BMW to stand on its own, or will the experience be good enough that its German car guts won’t matter? We’ll find out when we drive it soon.






This is a breaking news post and will be updated.