BMW has been working for years with Toyota to create a sports car platform that will underpin a car for each brand. A recent spy video highlights once again the tight cooperation between the two brands on this project with a Toyota prototype being spotted at the BMW M Testing Center in Nurburgring. We know that the BMW Z4 successor will still be called the Z4 and will be built with a chassis designation of G29. Toyota’s Supra will also be built on the chassis code G29. We also know that the Z4 will lost its folding metal roof in favor of a lighter, more traditional soft-top. Both cars will take advantage of the shared technology; the Supra will be bigger than the next Z4 and feature an extended version of the joint venture platform. The Supra will sit above GT86 model in the Toyota line-up.
The design of the two cars can’t be any different, but under the skin, both cars will be powered by a common running gear, including a BMW petrol engine driving the rear wheels and Toyota hybrid electric motors at the front. Electric power will come from regenerative braking, and will be stored in a lithium ion battery. At least a plug-in hybrid model will be offered by the two brands. Rumors are that either a B48 2.0 liter engine or a B58 3.0 liter engine, depending on the model, will be used to power the wheels.
The new BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra will be built in Graz, Austria, by Magna-Steyr. This is the same plant that built the recently-deceased MINI Paceman and Coupe. The Countryman was also built there but has moved shop to the Netherlands.
With the help of BMW’s lightweight construction processes, the Toyota Supra is targeting a kerbweight of less than 1,400kg.
BMW and Toyota will debut the two sports cars in 2017.
