Toyota Supra Vs Porsche Cayman - Picking The Winner Is Harder Than You Think

Only if Supra uses MB's M139 engine... ha!

I6 up front meant its handling nature is understeer. No matter how hard you try, the mass is there

Top Gear comparison of Supra vs Z4:

'In terms of the handling, the Supra’s just so sure-footed, broad-shouldered, stable on the road… and plenty of other clichés if I can think of them. Basically a really good balance between refinement and accuracy - yes, it’s happy doing third-gear drifts on a track, but really this an excellent road car at heart. It’s realistically rapid. The steering isn’t loaded with feel like an Alpine, but it’s precise enough and the body shell is actually stiffer than the LFA, so Toyota isn’t messing about here. It’s not the most agile or exciting car in a class that contains greats like the Cayman and Alpine, but it’s an accomplished all-rounder nonetheless.

What’s fascinating is how BMW can take the same building blocks and produce something so devoid of fun. When God was handing out sense of humours, the Z4 slept through its alarm. It’s a softer set-up, so it glides over bumps where the Supra shimmies, but besides having a generous amount of power under your right foot, there’s no one component that grabs you by the scruff and asks you to do anything other than sit back and cruise. And for a sportscar wearing a BMW badge, that’s a crying shame. I’ll pay the extra few grand and take a Supra, thanks'

A lot more involved in an understeering car than an engine being in front, and in fact I believe the engine is mounted behind the front axle. Every thing from tires to roll bars to driven wheels etc... have an impact on understeering vs oversteering vs neutral handling car. I haven't checked but I imagine the Supra (and Z4) is very close to 50/50, maybe a couple percent, with the drivers weight and a full tank of gas it probably is even closer if not slightly rearward biased.

Everyone knows lots of things can be adjusted, but you typically don't change the engine location or body frame(other than maybe adding a roll cage)

Ideal weight distribution is in fact 45/55, which is what MR usually comes in at, hence widely used by Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini

Supra weight distribution is 52/48% per Motor Trend in comparison with M2 & Cayman

Absolutely agree, for a race car better to have a rear weight bias, better entry to corners via better braking and same with the exit, better acceleration with the weight over the rear tires. However the basic premise that because it is front/mid engined it will naturally understeer is to me a bit over simplification. I have owned and driven many front/mid engine cars that were great handling cars and tended slightly toward oversteering traits due to suspension tuning, tires, roll bars (esp the rear) etc...

It is a well prepared pr move. No one is shopping a Cayman against the Supra. By mentioning the Porsche he hopes to garner attention and position the Supra as a great handling car.

Wrong the Supra has plenty of PR and similar to Cardi B, doesn’t need anymore press

Toyota is working on securing a new partner if the fallout and pushback on them using a BMW engine and infotainment continues with diehard Supra fans rejecting the idea of reliable Toyota using a not so dependable BMW hard and software

Picking the more profitable winner not even close.

It would have been interesting to throw the GT350 or the Mustang GT at both of them.

@MD-That would upset the whole apple cart. Especially for those who think a Mustang is the same today as the 5.0 of their youth. They might be surprised.

i'll bet I could bitch slap both of those cars in a GT at Willow springs.

I bet you could!!! The Car and Driver lightning laps show the 2016 GT350 about 2.2 sec ahead of a 2016 Cayman GT4 at VIR, would probably be even more at Willow Springs (Big Willow).

Rice burners definitely do NOT make the grade.

The Supra is German, dumbass.