The Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 M40i are in essence, sister models sharing a platform, powertrain, and many other components, so one would think they would be very eventually matched from a performance standpoint. To see if this is indeed the case, CarWow lined up the two for a series of tests.
As this comparison was conducted in the UK, the BMW Z4 M40i featured is the Euro-spec car. This is important because according to BMW, its 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine pumps out 335 hp, a substantial 47 hp less than the U.S.-spec Z4 M40i. The Toyota Supra, in both the U.S. and European markets, provides an identical 335 hp thanks to the same engine.
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With this in mind, you’d expect the two to be side-by-side in a drag race. However, it was the Supra which easily outpaced the BMW in a straight line.
In two standing-start drag races with launch control enabled, it was the Japanese sports car which easily put down its German sibling on both occasions. We suspect this is because the Z4 M40i in European-spec actually pumps out about 335 hp like BMW claims. By comparison, the Supra has been shown to have substantially more power than Toyota claims, perhaps near the level of the U.S.-spec Z4 M40i with its 382 hp.
The Supra’s clear power advantage is made especially clear in a rolling race where the Supra easily edges ahead of the BMW and continues to run away from the droptop. The Supra didn’t have everything go its way, however, and was beaten in a braking test from 70 mph (112 km/h).