vbb

The latest that I read indicates that even though it was developed with BMW, they're starting to deviate a bit from the shared design. I'll admit, I've always been a Japanese sports car fan (the old MKIV Supra, RX-7, NSX, and I owned two prior S2000s), so the concept of a new Supra is intriguing. Some of the reviewers that have driven the prototype are saying it's "cayman-like" and that it slots in between a Cayman and a 911. Interesting comments, I thought. It'll be even more interesting if it truly provides all of the handling and performance of something like a Cayman GTS for $60K or less and with Toyota reliability. That said, I sort of doubt it is going to actually outperform a Cayman S (981 or 718).

Still, it does have me a bit curious.

CaymanSinAR

AZWCat

MyNameIdeasWereT

The thing with most turbo cars is that they are de-tuned from the factory. A very simple Stage 1 tune and optimization for 93 octane will give a performance increase that could really make this new Supra fly.

The fact that it's smaller and better handling than the GT86 means it will be quite a beast on the track.
I'll be honest, if they offered these as manual from the factory, I probably would have held out for a Supra instead of buying my Boxster.
The BMW manual transmission should be a direct bolt on, but there will be software bugs to work out with the swap and I'm not about to buy a brand new car just to immediately swap transmissions on it.

AZWCat

MyNameIdeasWereT

Scooby921

If the new Supra is like the old Supra it'll be fatter and slower than expectations. It may be of size and performance to compete with a Cayman/Boxster, but that's why it'll fail to meet expectations. Everyone who loves the old Supra's doesn't love them for the styling, weight, or interior quality. They love them for the engine and the ability to make hundreds of additional horsepower. What everyone wants from a dealership is the 800hp monster they built in their garage. When they get something similar to a Cayman, but with the interior and styling of a Toyota they'll be disappointed. It'll probably be what everyone wants the Toyobaru twins to be.

With the front end Toyota put on the Avalon I can't imagine the Supra looking good. But with the commercial Toyota's been using where a middle-aged man is racing anything and everything he sees with his Avalon, perhaps the Supra is their target mid-life-crisis car for former ricers and street racing idiots who haven't managed to actually grow up.

Whatever the result, it'll be better than anything Nissan has been producing.

CaymanSinAR

Motor Trend just put out an excellent article about their time with the new Supra. Great read start to finish.

MyNameIdeasWereT

I like the idea that there will be a cheaper and less powerful model for people who inevitably do a 2JZ swap.

I understand that it's a well engineered sports car and I see the market that they are trying to compete in. But for the $60k price point (with no 3 pedal options), I would probably just opt for the more mature Lexus RC F.

JAhmed

Will try and reserve judgement before driving it, but a B58 powered car with the ZF8 as the only trans available doesn't particularly excite me. Especially if it weighs nearly 3500 lbs in the real world.

CaymanSinAR

Is "mature" code for fat? Because the RC F is a big girl at over 4,000lbs!

I've never driven one but quite like the style of the RC F. I remember a line from Motor Trend or Car and Driver when the current gen RC F came out. Something along the lines of, "It's not often we say 450 horsepower isn't enough. But this is one of those times."

MyNameIdeasWereT

The RC F is a quick car and numb to its own speed, but not fast. It's still quicker to 60 than this new Supra will supposedly be and it's a really well balanced car with a great exhaust note.

For me, if I'm diving a light weight sports car, it needs to be manual. If I'm going to be driving an automatic, then put me in a quick land yacht with some luxury.
Not everyone shares my mindset and I know there are people on this forum who will debate why PDK is better. I could care less about lap times as long as I enjoy my experience and I'm only getting the experience I want when I'm rowing my own gears.

various cheeses

Kind of off topic, but this thread made me realize the 2.7L 981 Cayman has very very similar stats to the 1st gen NSX.

vbb

As mentioned in the OP, I have long since been a Japanese sports car fan. I do not see the RC-F as a sports car. This is coming from someone who had an IS-F for years and loved it as a daily driver, and who test drove an RC-F before purchasing my present Cayman. Maybe I got spoiled from a few years of the Porsche brand, but once I moved away from the IS-F and into a Porsche, it highlighted the differences between a luxury sport GT car and a true sports car. Without making this a long post, I actually felt that 911 Turbo that I used to have was a bit too much of a cruiser, and got into this Cayman because it reminded me of an upscale version of what had previously been my best pure sports car---the Honda S2000.

If the new Supra goes more the way of a 2 seat cruiser GT car then I won't be interested at all. I like my sports cars nimble and compact without feeling cheap or tiny. The RC-F would be a fantastic car as a daily driver and a ton of fun on a cruise, but not my preferred weapon of choice for carving through back roads (or taking to a track event or Auto-X). I'm looking to the new Supra as potentially being more on par with a NISMO 370Z, except with the quality of a Toyota compared to a Nissan. I would agree that if it is a larger, heavier car, the RC-F would be my choice for the same price range.

vbb

Darn good point that I had never actually considered before. Maybe that's what it is about the Cayman that I've been so attracted to, as the NSX was the holy grail for me as a sports car fan from the 90s. I always say that the Cayman is everything I liked about the Honda S2000, but much more upscale and with better dynamics... kind of like the NSX was as compared to the S2000 back in the early 2000s.