Last weekend, we performed our routine measurement session. However, this time it was one of the most highly-expected and aggressively debated vehicles in the last few months: the all-new Toyota Supra A90. While it caused a general stir in the automotive world, the new Supra is one of the most appealing mid-level high-performance machines coming to the market today. It will feature a BMW-sourced six-cylinder engine, packing an impressive performance – albeit with less horsepower and torque than we’ve all expected.
Historically, the Toyota Supra has always been powered by a straight-six engine. While some of the early cars were naturally-aspirated, later models were turbocharged. But whether the vehicle was naturally aspirated or came with forced induction didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was whether or not it had six cylinders in a line.
Under the hood of the new-generation Toyota Supra lies the same 3.0 liter turbocharged inline-six engine found in the European BMW Z4 M40i. It delivers 335 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque, just like the Euro-spec BMW Z4 (even though the Supra comes with 4 lb-ft of torque less), promising some impressive performance driving dynamics. Sure, we’d all expected more, but this engine generally tends to accept tuning modifications with ease, where we expect 500+ horsepower tuned builds to become the norm rather soon.
The Toyota A90 Supra will – just like its predecessors – send power to the rear wheels through an as-standard limited-slip rear-differential, the same one from the Z4 M40i. It allows it to lock between 0-100 percent in a blink and should help the new Supra be a blast to chuck through a corner. Furthermore, the Supra will come with two driving modes to play with; Normal and Sport. This is a refreshing decision in a world where every performance machine seemingly comes with about a trillion different drive-mode combinations – most of which we set up once and then forget about it. As far as the braking power goes, the new Supra will be tamed down from speed thanks to four-pot Brembos at each corner.
In a nutshell, we’re preparing something that’ll appeal to both JDM fans and weekend warriors that like to blast it out on the racetrack on the weekend. You can take a look at the image gallery from our measurement session at the SEMA Garage (alongside some of the Toyota Supra A90 renderings) right below. For more information about a set of wheels for your A90 Supra, please don’t hesitate to contact us right away.
