Given Toyota's form with four-cylinder, front-engined, rear-wheel drive sports cars, both old and new, hope is reasonably high for the Supra 2.0. No, not the next generation of Supra - the 2.0-litre engined one. Especially so given that the 3.0-litre Supra made an encouraging first impression last year, certainly meeting expectations if not quite exceeding them.
Confirmed at launch, then given the green light for Europe earlier this year, the four-cylinder Supra promises increased dynamism thanks to a 100kg-lighter kerb weight, a lower entry price than rival cars like the base 718 Cayman, and of course improved efficiency from 33 per cent fewer cylinders.
All that, we already knew; now there's a bit more from Toyota, potentially because the originally quoted March delivery date might well be delayed due to you know what. So this keeps it in the limelight. Having only seen the Fuji Edition Supra 2.0 thus far, we now have images of a standard car in Lightning Yellow in addition. Note the smaller 18-inch wheels and, if you're looking really closely, exhaust tips reduced from 100mm diameter to 90mm and finished in bright chrome instead of stainless steel.
There's also the excellent news that, despite just the 258hp and 295lb ft, as well as retaining the straight-six Supra's 275-section rear Michelin Super Sports, the four-cylinder Supra will pull some outrageous drifts given the space and provocation - jolly good. This must be a car with the Active Differential, surely, available to customers in the optional Sport Pack...
Arguably of even more interest, however, is the insight of Herwig Daenens. A Toyota Master Driver and heavily involved in the development of four- and six-cylinder Supras, Daenens was one of the drivers behind the Supra's SP8T podium at the Nurburgring 24-Hour last year, so knows the car inside-out. And he has one or two illuminating things to say.
Perhaps unsurprisingly he hasn't stated one is better than the other, instead preferring to say: "With the 3.0-litre you have tremendous power and silky-smooth performance of the six-cylinder engine, while the lighter, 2.0-litre combines a decent level of engine performance with even sharper handling DNA."
With the lighter engine mass moved closer to the Supra's centre, the 2.0's chassis settings are slightly different to the 3.0. Daenens commented: "We spent a lot of time fine-tuning as we set ourselves high targets for the car." This has included road testing in Europe, North America and Japan, with track assessment at the Nordschleife. The four-cylinder car therefore carries bespoke tuning for the electric power steering, spring rates and dampers. Where fitted, the limited-slip differential and AVS (Adaptive Variable Suspension) have been reconfigured as well.
With all that, Daenens has told those eagerly awaiting a new Supra that "they will be pleasantly surprised by the performance of the 'little brother' in all aspects - even if they choose not to add the Sport Pack." Which is encouraging, although he's clearly not likely to say much different.
Despite all of this, there remains no confirmation of the four-cylinder Supra - either as a regular model or the Fuji Speedway Edition - for the UK. But it has to be here at some point, doesn't it? We'll keep you posted.
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