The Real Reason The Toyota Supra Can’t Walk Away From A BMW M340i In A Drag Race

Toyota GR Supra is slower than the BMW M340i despite having a lot of similarities including the exact same engine size and performance figures!

With Toyota and BMW working in partnership for the GR Supra and the Z4 roadster, the question remains which brand makes the better sports car. Now with some of the world's coolest cars brought together on the drag strip for the first time, Hagerty intends to settle which company and which nation brings the consumer the greatest car.

While on paper the lightest car with the best power-to-weight ratio the Supra should finish on top. Yet in Jason Cammisa and Hagerty's findings, this isn't the case. The Mark V Toyota Supra sets itself up as the ultimate sports car from the Japanese brand.

The style takes inspiration from the Mk4 Supra as well as Toyota's current more flamboyant design style. But the undercarriage and engine from BMW seem like the perfect combination. German performance with a JDM look.

BMW recently took the performance car scene by storm with their six-cylinder engines. Featured in the BMW M135i and its 2,3 and 4 Series counterparts, it balanced horsepower and price. But in its application with Toyota, it seems to fall a little behind. Find out why Toyota's halo sports car is slower than its BMW sports sedan sibling.

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The M340i comes as a peculiar offering, not quite as sporty as a full-bore M-car, but still capable of excellent performance. With less aggressive aero and quieter exhausts initially, the sportiest non-M 3 series came as a car for those who want to be more discrete. But now coming with pops and bangs from the factory exhaust system this might not be the case.

As either a sedan or wagon, the M340i seems even more out of place in comparison to the Supra. However, according to Hagerty, this is not the case. Back in the 1990s, Toyota made the greatest straight 6-cylinder engine with the 2JZ. Now, this title belongs to BMW, as it should. Cammisa for Hagerty calls their B58 3.0 liter straight six an "overachieving psychopath", a modern-day equivalent to the 2JZ engine.

Cammisa continues to explain the same engine sits in the Toyota GR Supra and the current M240i and M340i, meaning that the Toyota Supra should be pretty evenly matched. In the M240i and M340i, the B58 motor produces 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque. The Supra matches these figures so should equal these perhaps lesser performance cars.

Yet the drag strip once more acts as the great leveler. The M240i, equipped with BMW's xDrive walks away from the competition from the start. With this all-wheel drive system the smaller 2 Series benefits from instant traction. The M340i weighs almost the same as the smaller 2 Series but hits 60mph 0.2 seconds slower than the M240i's 3.6 seconds. This explains the gap between the two of them but not where the Supra lands.

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Capable of 60mph in 3.7 seconds the Supra sits exactly between the M240i and M340i. These standings are accurately reflected in the race's results. However, this result doesn't reflect all the car's specifications. The Supra uses the same industry standard ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox.

But uses much shorter gearing than the BMW. This should optimize the car for acceleration but finishing in second place hasn't had the desired effect for Toyota. This problem comes twofold when you consider the Supra's weight, 3,397 lbs a mighty 480lbs lighter than the BMWs. This should all combine to yield a 3-second to 60mph car, but it hasn't.

Cammisa presents an alternative theory. BMW instead of giving Toyota's sports car the full power its engine can provide is cheating the Japanese marque out of some precious horsepower. At the very least providing weaker engine samples. According to Toyota Europe, their most powerful Supra produces 340 horsepower.

BMW likely made sure that their cars would perform better, especially in their home market. Now the more powerful North American market cars will certainly produce more power than these European specification vehicles. But then as much power as the BMW branded motors, perhaps not.

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With the Toyota Supra's poor performance when compared to the competition from BMW, the Supra falls short of its potential. So one would expect the car to fall behind Toyota's greatest V8 ever. The 5.0-liter power unit finds itself in the Lexus IS500 F Sport, producing 472 horsepower it finishes the lineage of big powerful Lexus and Lexus F models.

Or at least F models with engines instead of batteries, like the upcoming BEV Sport. There still is potential for a more powerful Lexus. According to Lexus, the IS 500 "marks the debut of the Lexus F SPORT Performance line. In addition to a larger, naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 engine, it further sets itself apart from the standard F SPORT model".

Not quite a full F model, a 500+ horsepower limited run model could come on sale. A true swan song to powerful, gas-powered super saloons. Breaking away from the line it's clear that even in a down-tuned state the B58 motor still triumphs over Toyota's greatest V8 motor. Leaving a gap of 0.6 seconds at the end of the quarter-mile.

The GR Supra crosses the line at 12.2 seconds and the Lexus IS 500 F Sport crosses the line at 12.8 seconds. This impressive result showcases the power of the B58 3.0-liter engine. It comes as no surprise then that BMW doesn't want to share some of its greatest engineering feats to date.

Sources: Hagerty Via YouTube, Toyota, BMW

Douglas Hamilton is a British gearhead with a degree in Literature. He grew up surrounded by F1, Need For Speed, and classic cars. He has a worrying obsession with Jaguar.