
The tire models are the same - Michelin Pilot Super Sports - though in 18 versus 19 inches in diameter, but with identical tread width. The front brakes go from four-piston fixed caliper Brembos to a single-piston floating caliper, and the front brake rotors shrink from 13.7 to 13.0 inches. Making the Supra 2.0 more affordable de-contented it in a way that doesn’t change the way it looks or feels to most people, but for the discriminating enthusiast, it’s all in the details. All Supras use the same eight-speed automatic transmission (including the gearing) that clicks off quick, crisp shifts and is rarely tripped up.

Toyota says 0-60 mph is 5.0 seconds for the four-cylinder, which compares with 4.1 seconds of the 2020 Supra six-cylinder and 3.9 seconds for the updated 2021 Supra six. Supra 2.0 pricing hasn’t been announced, but I wouldn’t count on it being very intermediary because this is, after all, still a BMW-based model ( BMW Z4).

The four-cylinder Supra does feel like a heavier Toyota 86 with some real gusto under the hood, though it’s missing the lightness (the Supra 2.0 is 400 pounds heavier) and sharpness that make the 86 such an entertaining ride, even sans 50 hp maybe it’s only the tight confines that feel 86-ish. Toyota says the four-cylinder Supra is an intermediate model between the 86 and the Supra six-cylinder. The 2.0-liter has the grunt I’ve always wanted from the Toyota sports car formerly known as the Scion FR-S, currently called the Toyota 86. How the Supra 2.0-Liter Accelerates 2021 Toyota Supra | photo by Joe Bruzek In other BMWs, this engine out-accelerates its rating, so we think either 255 hp is conservative or the driveline that delivers power to the road is unfathomably efficient - and it’s a similar story in the new four-cylinder Supra. Having a rated 295 pounds-feet of torque helps, too. Because it’s a BMW engine, the paltry 255-hp rating feels like a much more substantial 300 hp. The not-so-secret is that the Supra’s new turbocharged 2.0-liter, like the six-cylinder, is BMW-sourced pop off the spiffy Toyota engine cover and you’ll be greeted with many BMW logos on harnesses, hoses and modules. Related: 2020 Toyota Supra First Drive: More Than the Sum of Its Parts However, this is a classic case of how specs can be misleading. Just 255 hp? In a Supra? After all, a Toyota Camry family sedan’s V-6 has 301 hp, and the GR Supra 3.0 with a six-cylinder now has 382 hp. Named the GR Supra 2.0, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder’s 255 horsepower looks pretty weak on paper. Only one year after being reintroduced to the world, the 2021 Toyota Supra has a lot of new stuff going on, including a new entry-level turbocharged four-cylinder version and a beefed-up, more powerful turbo six. Versus the competition: It’s the Supra’s wild design and nostalgia that make it unique versus any objective performance numbers.

The verdict: The 2021 Toyota Supra’s new four-cylinder makes the sporty coupe more accessible, but the six-cylinder’s attitude and raucousness is the best way to get the Supra experience. 2021 Toyota Supra 3.0 | photo by Joe Bruzek
