The Toyota Supra was developed in partnership with BMW; everybody knows that. Toyota needed BMW’s inline-6 engine… and a bunch of other components, while the Germans wanted a reason to keep the Z4 alive. Only nobody is talking about the roadster, so they launched another sports car powered by the same engine, the new M240i.
We’re fans of the old Z4, but we’re even bigger fans of the old M235i and M240i, not to mention the M2. They have that classic BMW spirit, a small, nimble chassis powered by a fantastic six-cylinder engine.
The new one has been somewhat controversial from a design perspective, even though it doesn’t have beaver teeth. Yet it’s got the B58 engine in combination with something the Supra will probably never bring to the performance game, and that’s an AWD system. It’s not a perfect trade, though. Added features and two extra pro shafts mean the M240i is heavier than the Supra.
To settle this new German-Japanese sibling rivalry, the Canadians at TheStraightPipes have done a comparison. You won’t find out which is better as a 1000 hp drag racing project car, but you may find your next B58-powered daily sports car.
And yes, the engines are exactly the same, 3 liters, six cylinders and an advanced turbo system producing 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque. And to prove a point, they show that the engine cover from one car works on the other, in case you ever doubted just how much “BMW” is in the Supra.
Is the Supra faster than the M240i?
That’s a tough one that can’t be answered straight away. You can’t order the M240i without xDrive, which means you’re stuck with a BMW that weighs about 500 lbs more than its Toyota counterpart.
With a claimed 0 to 60 mph time of 4.1 seconds, the $49,000 BMW is supposedly slower than the Toyota GR Supra, which claims 3.9 seconds. But the M240i was on winter tires and the weather was cold, so TSP says it was faster in every quarter-mile they did. The gap is small enough to suggest they’re relatively even.
Being AWD, the M240i is easier to drive, even on the limit. The footage shows it can do donuts and drifts, but the Supra does the hooligan ballet better and also produces lots of tire smoke. Toyota even has a better exhaust sound, while BMW seems to hold the 2 Series back like with other M Performance models.
So if you want a Supra that can drive in winter, you’re going to have to pay the price… not in terms of real money, though. The Supra is the more expensive one. But the M240i will never be as cool as its GR counterpart. Maybe the next M2 can take care of that problem.
