After almost more than a decade and a half, the Toyota Supra, which is being developed in a common engineering venture with the all-new BMW Z5, is finally set to make a comeback in the automobile industry and the buzz of a mill hasn’t stopped churning. It is now in its final phase of development and is getting ready for 2018 market debut. Well, the fact that both the automakers are working together to design the new-gen Supra and Z5 have certainly got many enlivened but it is not fair to think of both these units as identical vehicles under different nameplates.
This forthcoming fifth-generation Supra was first previewed at the 2014 Detroit Motor Show by a pair of Toyota FT-1 concepts, designed at the carmaker’s Calty Design Research studio in California. Some spied shots of the 2018 Supra has also been surfaced online that seems to be making preliminary testing rounds. Though, the test mule was hidden by the highly covered frame, but, it prototype appears to be sporting similar shape and lines of the above-mentioned FT-1 concepts.
Going by those spied pictures, best view of those unveils a short front overhang, long bonnet, headlamps, flared wheel arches and narrow and sharp taillights that look similar to those of Concepts. The liftback-style tailgate and two-door layout of the concept are maintained. The rear lip spoiler as of the Toyota GT86, dual exhaust tips at the rear end, alloy wheels are also seemed to be sourced from the FT-1.
Image Courtesey: SpideBlide
If the media reports are to be believed, the next-gen Supra will be sold exclusively in several markets as a fixed-roof coupe, while the Z5 will only be developed for its own particular audience in the same roadster design as of its predecessor and perform as a replacement of the Z4 discontinued recently from the market. That means, there is no overlap of sales amid the new Toyota Supra and BMW Z5.
Both vehicles will possibly celebrate the same architecture developed by BMW, but they seem poles apart in terms of the driving factors. The platform shares chassis components and mechanical solutions with the ongoing 3 Series as well as its several different derivatives, including the five-link rear suspension and the rear axle with the M3/M4. As the reports suggest, the new architecture has been engineered to support both rear wheel and four wheel drive configuration as well as to help hybrid powertrain.
BMW’s newest engines will underpin the new Z5 comprising the latest evolution of its 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged powerhouse, the B48, producing around 250 bhp and a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbocharged unit, the B58, under the hood of Z5 M40i M Performance. Both these Z5 models will house standard rear-wheel drive complimented by an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox. There are also rumours for a flagship edition of BMW’s Z5 M Performance that are yet to be revealed officially by the carmaker.
Expected to arrive in the international market in mid-2018, the latest-gen Supra is going to available in the choice of a petrol engine or a petrol-electric hybrid mechanism. It could be sourced from the company’s own-developed drivetrains. Meanwhile, the four-wheel-drive hybrid variant of the same may sport a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine along with an electric motor packed within a ZF-made eight-speed automatic gearbox, making out about 355 hp. Once landed up, the all-new Toyota Supra will slot above the GT86 in the company’s lineup and will take on the likes of Audi TT, Mercedes SLC, Porsche 718 Cayman, and the co-developed BMW Z5.
Get latest and updated information about automobiles on our Google Plus Community Speed Gears.