We all know the new Toyota Supra. Few questions remain about its performance, how it came to be, and who builds it (BMW). There is, however, one nagging piece of the Supra puzzle that remains incomplete, and that’s the confirmation of the Supra coming with something other than a straight-six engine. The four-cylinder Supra already exists in other markets, and we wanted to know if the “baby” Supra could be headed to the U.S. in the near future.
We recently spoke with Ed Laukes, Toyota’s group vice president of marketing, at the 2020 Chicago auto show where we asked him if the four-cylinder option would make its way here—we were told to stay tuned until next week. Next week, as many NASCAR fans certainly know, is the Daytona 500. Toyota manufactures seven of the 43 cars entered in next Sunday’s race, and we believe Toyota will use the race weekend as an opportunity to announce the arrival of the four-cylinder Supra to the U.S. market.
A recent California Air Resources Board filling shows that a 2.0 liter, I-4 powered Supra has been certified for sale in California, along with the BMW models that share its engine. If an engine has been emissions-certified in California, a state with some of the strictest emissions regulations in the country, it’s likely that the same engine can be sold anywhere in the United States. We’ve postulated for a while that the entry-level Supra could be coming, but now it appears we’ll hear the news very soon.
As a refresher, the four-cylinder is already available in Japan—and in two states of tune. The base version of the 2.0-liter four-banger makes 194 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, and the more powerful variant offers 225 horsepower and 295 lb-ft. For a little perspective, the BMW Z4 s30i—also offered with a 2.0-liter four cylinder—develops 255 horses and 295 lb-ft. It’s almost certain we’ll only get the more powerful version, possibly with even more grunt.
So is Toyota going to make a four-cylinder announcement next week at Daytona? Laukes said he would be in Florida for the race, and we think the chances are high. Now we wait to find out.
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