2020 Supra Good? Bad? Ugly?

Every since the Mark IV Supra ended production in 2002 fans were anticipating a newly released Supra. However as the years went by their hopes faded, before being reignited every now and then with speak of a new Supra. Well finally in 2020 this dream will become a reality... Or so they thought. With anyones hopes and dreams it can be very specific and if the outcome is not exactly as they'd hoped it to be it can be a huge disappointment.

In 2018 the news was released that Toyota had indeed being developing a Mark V Supra and the initial design of the car was released. At the time there was no idea what was hiding under the hood of the Supra and everything else regarding the drivetrain was speculation. However soon after it was revealed that the new 2020 Supra would be running the BMW B58, an engine that is shared with the G32 640I and a whole host of other BMW models. Now in my opinion this is good and bad. Having a pre designed engine reduces the cost of development, but it's not unique, it's not a toyota engine like the 2JZ was in the Mark IV. The 2JZ only had a few applications, the Toyota Crown, Mark IV Supra and a few of the Lexus GS models who also happened to be owned by Toyota. It would have been nice to see the Toyota create a new iron clad beast of an engine to put in the A90 Supra but it was not to be. But we can't really complain with the BMW B58 as it too has been compared to the original 2JZ. With a power output of 250Kw and 335BHP it's no slouch and is slightly better than the stock 2JZ with 239Kw and 321BHP.

The Mark V Supra kept many of the characteristics of the previous generation with a straight 6 cylinder 3L engine with it being front mounted and rear wheel drive. Similarly it is also a coupe styling the same as previous, however with it being 2020 and the era of the manual fading into the darkness it was almost guaranteed that their would be no manual option available and with that you Toyota decided on an 8-speed automatic. As devastating as the news was it had to be expected with the Supras rivals such as the Nissan GTR and the Honda NSX both only boasting Automatic transmissions. From the videos I've seen of the new 2020 Supra driving, it does seem that the transmission does work extremely efficiently and was the much better choice. And of course it does have a manual mode putting the selection of gear back in your hands, just without the added clutch pedal.

Now it's been a hotly debated if the new A90 Mark V Supra is worthy to live up the Mark IV's almost invincible status, and in my opinion I think it has. The styling resembles a sport performance vehicle, which it most definitely is, it has a similar power straight 6 engine that creates more stock horsepower than its predecessor and has all the gadgets and electronics that come in modern car. Although that could be a blessing or a curse, depending on your view. Will it be as popular as the Mark IV? More than likely not. The cult following the Mark IV Supra has may not be out matched by any modern vehicle, with its main opposition in the Nissan Skyline R34 GTR. However I do believe the 2020 Supra will be loved by all, and modified to the heavens in order to make that bulk power that we all know the Mark IV could.