2020 Toyota Supra
With a 335-horsepower turbocharged inline-6, the 2020 Toyota Supra likely isn’t on its way to break any lap records, but chief engineer Tetsuya Tada laid down his best guess for a Nürburgring Nordschleife run.
Speaking to Road & Track at this week’s 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Tada said in a Tuesday report he wagers his engineering darling is good for a 7:40 lap time around the ‘Ring. He said it’s easy to break the 8:00 mark, and gave a high lap time of 7:50.
The electronically controlled speed limiter, which governs the top speed up to 155 mph, would likely hamper the Supra on the Nordschleife’s straightaway, but Tada still believes 7:40 is doable. He said one day his team could cut the speed limiter and run the car for an even better time, but declared the Supra has not been around the ‘Ring for an official lap.
As the magazine points out, German publication Sport Auto took the Supra’s platform mate, the BMW Z4, around the Nordschleife and clocked a 7:55 time. Keep in mind, the Z4 provides more power than the Supra with 382 hp from the same turbocharged inline-6 engine.
However, Tada underscored the fact the Supra is lighter than the Z4 and more rigid, since the Bavarian convertible features a soft-top roof. It’s likely why the Toyota clips the 0-60 mph mark off quicker at 4.1 seconds vs. 4.4 seconds for the BMW.
We won’t know how quickly the fifth-generation Supra goes around the famed German race track until Toyota decides to tackle the Green Hell. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later. And if the Supra did manage a 7:40 time, it would make it quicker than a handful of sports cars and even supercars…from the last decade.
