Plenty of companies offer four-cylinder variants of their sports cars these days. Jaguar offer a 2.0-litre unit in the F-Type, Porsche do the same for the Cayman, even the Ford Mustang has a 2.3-litre four-cylinder option.
Now, Toyota and Gazoo Racing have joined them all by introducing a 2.0-litre turbo unit to the GR Supra range. It’s all in the name of widening their audiences and, as wrong as some of you may think it is, it seems to have the desired effect.
Like the current 3.0-litre straight-six turbocharged engine, this new 2.0-litre unit is the same as the one in its nonidentical twin, the BMW Z4. Power output is down to 254bhp and 295lb ft of torque (335bhp and 368lb ft from the 3.0-litre). Power goes through the rear wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox.
With this reduction of power comes a reduction of speed. 0-62mph takes 5.2 seconds – that’s down from 4.1 seconds in the more powerful variant. It does, however, hit the same electronically limited 155mph top speed.
Whilst less power and less speed (off the line at least) may disappoint some of you, there’s no need to be too upset. That’s because the smaller engine has shaved 100kg off of the GR Supra’s overall weight.
It gets better. The weight loss at the front of the car gives the 2.0-litre GR Supra a perfect 50:50 weight ratio across the front and rear axles. This “improves the car’s inertia characteristics and chassis balance for even sharper handling”. That’s Toyota themselves admitting that this less powerful Supra handles better than the 3.0-litre variant!
If you want this one but are worried it’s looks will give it away, fear not as there are no differences in appearance between the two variants. Same body kit, same exhausts (although the exhaust noise might be slightly different), no ‘2.0’ badges. It looks identical.
The Supra in the pictures is the Fuji Speedway edition, a limited run of 200 units. This upgrades the wheels to a 19-inch option from the standard 18-inch alloys and adds extra red detailing.
So it may be slower but it’s also lighter, more agile and, obviously, cheaper than the six-cylinder. Is that enough for you to choose the 2.0-litre GR Supra or is it a bit pointless given the popularity of the GT86? Let us know what you think in the comments section below or via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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