The New Toyota Supra Will Get A Four-Cylinder Engine

Toyota has confirmed that a lighter, cheaper four-cylinder engine option will be made available for the new Supra.

The heavily BMW-based car will add the German marque’s B48B20 turbocharged four-cylinder unit to the B58B30 blown six-pot lump we’ve talked about before.

Although clearly down on power, with a reported 261bhp versus the six-cylinder car’s 335bhp, comments from Tetsuya Tada – the Supra’s chief engineer – at the Goodwood Festival of Speed suggest it will have its own advantages.

In an interview with Road & Track, Tada-san is said to have confirmed not just that a four-banger is on the way, but also that it will be lighter, with better weight distribution and a sharper turn-in. Both engines will use ZF’s eight-speed automatic gearbox, but it’s still unconfirmed as to whether it’s the only option.

It seems Toyota is also thinking about fans of the old A80 Supra. Road & Track says Tada-san recommended that anyone wanting to swap-in a 2JZ engine should go for the four-cylinder car, both for the financial saving and because it represents less bulk to remove from the engine bay.

That also indicates that the two powerplants shouldn’t be linked to wildly different chassis components with, for example, significant spec advantages for the more powerful car. After all these teasers, let’s hope the wait for full details isn’t too much longer.