news

BMW M3-engined Supra ‘possible but unlikely’

The new Toyota Supra has barely been around for six months, but people are already looking for ways to make it more powerful.


Recently-appointed BMW M boss Markus Flasch didn't rule out offering Toyota the upcoming M3's twin-turbo inline-six engine for a Supra with even more go.

"We’ve certainly made no offer to supply the engine to Toyota – and no request has been made, as far as I know," Flasch told Autocar. 

"But it’s an interesting idea, if unlikely for now. It would be a lot for us to give away, you might say. But I’d never say never.”

First seen in the X3 M and X4 M, the S58 inline-six shares just 10 per cent of its parts with the B58 used in the Supra and BMW Z4 M40i. It pumps out 375kW and 600Nm, and shunts the hotted-up SUVs to 100km/h in just over four seconds.

Were it to be shared with Toyota, the S58 would be the first BMW M engine offered to a third party since the McLaren F1's V12. There's a reason for that, according to Flasch.

“As a rule, we don’t offer BMW M engines to third parties because we consider them such a strength of our cars,” he said.

“I think it would be a hard decision for a lot of the team to accept – particularly with the S58 being so new. Why would we sell it before we had a chance to use it ourselves in all the places we plan to?"

We'll have to wait until early in 2020 to see the S58 nestled under the M3's bonnet. Speaking with Australian media, Flasch said M has "enough models coming up this year for M", which means an early 2020 launch is on the cards instead.

Chat with us!







Chat with Agent