The Toyota-BMW sports car project could take a very different form than what we were expecting. If a new report out of Australia is to be believed, the car may even qualify for supercar status to rival cars such as the Audi R8 and upcoming Acura NSX.
Until now, speculation surrounding the project has generally settled on the idea that the resulting car would have a straight-six turbo motor, perhaps with hybrid all-wheel-drive, and be badged as a Supra on the Toyota side and a Z4 on the BMW side (or something in that range).
Now, while Reuters reports that Toyota is still thinking about whether to go ahead with it, Australia’s Motoring is saying that BMW is very happy with the progress and that the collaboration may yield an even bigger, badder supercar with two different engines.
According to the article, the supercar will share a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive platform. From there, BMW would install a “bespoke” twin-turbo inline-six developed by its M performance division, adding a plug-in hybrid supplied by Toyota.
Toyota, on the other hand, is supposedly testing a 520-horsepower 3.7-liter V8, a version of the motor found in its TS040 Le Mans race car. Adding a hybrid system would bump that to about 800 horses, a concession made only for real world factors such as fuel efficiency, emissions and engine production considerations. Otherwise 1,000 horsepower would be possible.
Naturally, the Toyota version would be badged as a Lexus, leading some to call it a LFA successor. If produced — and that’s a big if — the cars would be ready in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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