Wheels UAE – July 26, 2019

fter years ofwill-they-won’t-theyrumours, conceptcars,

teaserimages, prototypesspiedattheNurburgringand

sheerhopeofenthusiasts, thenewToyotaSupra isfinally

out.Andwe’ve drivenit.

Callingthiscarthemost anticipatedvehicleofthe

decadewouldn’t beanoverstatement.Afterall,thisisthe

revivalofa hugely-loved sportscarthatlast sawthelight

ofday in 2002. However, it isn’t withoutitscontroversy,

withthisSupra co-developedwithBMW—newsof

whichhasn’t beenreceivedwell insomecornersofthe

motoringworld.Doesthecarlive uptothehypethough,

orisnotsoSupra afterall?

Well,somewillcallthisa BMWindrag, andthere is

somemerittothisclaim.UnderitsToyota-designedskin

isthesameplatformastheBMWZ4, withthe3.0-litre

enginebrewedfromtheGermanpotratherthanbeing

whippedupinJapan.There’s evena hintofBMWinside

too, withtheswitchgearandtheinfotainmentsystem

liftedfromitspartsbintobeusedhere (though,thisisno

badthing).Don’t writeit offasa Z4clonejust yet though,

asToyotasaysit hasbroughtitsheartandsoultothe

formula.

ThatBMWpowerplantisthesameyou’llfindinany

‘40i’denotedvehicleit offers, thoughit doesconformto

thesix-cylinderformulaeverySupra todatehasboasted.

The iconicJapanesenamplate finally returns. But canit live up to the

weight of expectationon its shoulders? Wefind out.

words:ryanhirons.photos: supplied

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