This should be a easy slam dunk. The M240i xDrive might have a slightly more powerful version of the lovely ‘B58’ 3-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder engine that it shares with the revised Supra, but in every other department the Toyota holds all the aces. Firstly, it’s now available with a six-speed manual gearbox. This is the sort of U-turn we support wholeheartedly. It’s also smaller, lower, has a stiffer structure and weighs 188kg less than the astonishingly heavy BMW. The Supra offers the purity of rear-wheel drive and the playfulness of an e-diff and it is exotic and intriguing where BMW’s latest coupe seems at once conventional yet wilfully awkward. The two-seater Toyota has a higher starting price – £53,495 to the M240i’s £47,515 – but that seems fitting for a tough-looking, focused sports car with an iconic badge that promises greater engagement and sharper dynamics.
If only life were so simple. The Supra has, up to now, been one of those tantalising ‘nearly’ cars. I revisited the press pack before taking delivery of this car and it really pulls at the heart strings. Stiffer structurally than an LFA; ‘conceived as a sports car in its purest form’; tested exhaustively at the Ring; developed by Toyota Gazoo Racing with learnings from motorsport success; strict adherence to the golden ratio between track width and wheelbase (this was new to me but 1.55 is the magic number, apparently); a shorter wheelbase and lower centre of gravity than even the GT86 for ultimate agility. It’s a great piece of persuasive writing littered with quotes from chief engineer Tetsuya Tada, emotive language and packed with engineering detail. The Supra doesn’t half sound good on paper.
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