Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 Go Head To Head In Performance Testing
Internet wisdom has it that the new BMW Z4 and resurrected Toyota Supra are the same car with different badges. Think again.
The BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra, as everyone and their grandma knows, have been developed in unison by the two companies. Millions of words worth of complaining and hate has been spewed about this collaboration over the internet, but that’s not what we are here for. We have accepted reality and moved on (we know, its a crazy concept).
What we are still curious about when its comes to these two brothers in disguise is do they actually perform exactly the same if they are supposedly “the same car with different badges?” Thanks to our friends in the UK at Carwow, we are able to get a closer look into what separates these two vehicles apart, other than the obvious styling differences (yes, the Supra looks much better).
The team at Carwow has lined up a series of tests including a braking test, a rolling drag race, and a standing drag race. Both cars feature the fantastic B58 3.0L inline-6 turbo engine making roughly 340 HP. If you review our previous post about the B58’s power output in the Supra, you’ll understand that Toyota grossly sandbagged the horsepower and torque figures on this car by more than a little. Has BMW done the same tweaks to really make the Z4 sing? Let’s find out.
ALSO SEE: 2020 Toyota Supra Drive Review: Hallelujah, It’s Finally Here
In the standing drag race, the Supra manages to literally gap the Z4 by maybe three to four car lengths and continues to pull past even after the launch. They later display that the Z4 take 12.5 seconds to finish the 1/4 mile while the Supra takes only 12 seconds flat. They run the test several times and the results are consistent, the Supra is miles faster. In addition, it is good to know there is no difference in tire or weight between the two, so the external factors are matched.
The results to no surprise are the same for the 50 mph rolling race, where the Supra yet again, pulls consistently away from the Z4, almost effortlessly up until its governed top speed of 155 mph. However, during the braking test, the Toyota interestingly gets outdone by the BMW. It’s not by much (only about a couple feet), but it is a victory for BMW.
Long story short, if this test means anything, its that if you want a better performing and better looking car out of the box, Toyota is the way to go.
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