Another week, another juicy rumor about the Toyota group’s partnership with BMW.
After the McLaren – BMW partnership rumor turned out to be, well, just a wild rumor, new speculations regarding the Bavarian car manufacturer are surfacing, only this time, BMW is allegedly cooking something together with Lexus.
Given the ongoing association with Toyota, it seems convenient and natural to accept an alleged project between the German car manufacturer and the high-end division of the Japanese giant. Still, instead of settling for an “ordinary” sports car, Auto Express reports that the two firms have teamed up to develop a supercar; moreover, according to a source close to Lexus, the two companies have jointly built a mid-engine, all-wheel-drive prototype.
Even so, the production supercar will apparently be built in both BMW and Lexus variants, using an aluminum spaceframe and a carbon-fiber tub, with an internal combustion engine powering the rear-wheels, aided by electric motors powering the front wheels. The powerplants used will be a bespoke, twin-turbo, plug-in hybrid, M-developed straight-six for BMW’s variant, while Lexus is allegedly going for a detuned version of Toyota’s TS040 3.7-litre V8 Le Mans race car.
The powertrains will be ferociously powered, as the magazine’s (…unnamed) Lexus source explains: “While 1,000 bhp is possible, fuel consumption, emissions and engine tolerances will see a more realistic figure of 800 bhp targeted,”
Of course, as intriguing as this information might sound, we can’t take it without a grain or two of salt (especially after the previous rumor was busted). Furthermore, Frank van Meel – BMW M Boss – has explicitly stated that BMW won’t have another range-topping, super-machine in its line-up as long as the i8 is offered for sale.
That said, the source also states that the cars will be on sale by 2020 and priced from £160,000 ($242,762). So, who knows, maybe this will be the third “i-car” that BMW confirmed for 2020.
BMW M1 Hommage pictured
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