US Market is Likely to Get Four-Cylinder Toyota Supra

If you’re been interested in buying the BMW Z4 Cou… sorry Toyota Supra but felt it was too expensive, you might be in luck. According to this new report from Motor Trend, the Supra will be getting a four-cylinder version in the ‘States later this year.

The four-cylinder Toyota Supra has been on sale in Japan already, offering two different variations of it in fact, but it’s been a six-cylinder-only model in the US market since its debut. While the sixer in the new Supra is a brilliant engine, as it’s a slightly de-tuned version of the same B58 engine found in the Z4 M40i, a four-cylinder model would help to put a lot of butts in seats.

Admittedly, there’s been no confirmed word from Toyota about a four-pot Supra ‘Stateside but Ed Laukes, Toyota’s VP of Marketing, recently told MT to stay tuned on such a thing. On top of that, CARB (California Air Resources Board) shows a filing for the 2.0 liter turbocharged Toyota Supra. If Toyota can get its engine certified by CARB that means it can be sold in every state in the US, which also means it most likely will.

The engine used in the four-cylinder Toyota Supra will likely be the same one offered in the BMW Z4 sDrive30i. The latter car is one I’m personally quite familiar with and I actually think it’s a good option for the Supra. While it’s not nearly as exciting as the spectacular B58 but it’s punchy enough and it’s lighter over the nose, so it actually helps the car feel a bit more lively. In fact, the Z4 sDrive30i is a surprisingly fun car to drive.

What’s interesting is that, much like with the six-cylinder Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 M40i, the four-cylinder Supra will also likely be the less powerful version. So the US four-pot Supra getting the same 225 hp and 295 lb-ft as the more powerful Japanese version is likely. No matter, though, as the six-cylinder version supposedly has 335 hp but really makes closer to the Z4 M40i’s 382 hp.

A four-cylinder Supra would be cool in the real world, as it would offer a cheaper way for enthusiasts to get into a really great driving car. However, it will seriously upset the Supra fanbase. If they were mad about their favorite sports car using a Bavarian inline-six instead of a Japanese one, imagine when it uses a Bavarian four-cylinder instead.

[Source: Motor Trend]

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