The BMW supercar rumor mill continues to churn. Just as
BMW dispels the BMW-Mclaren supercar rumor, another report now claims that BMW and Toyota are collaborating on a mid-engine supercar.
Car and Driver claims that in addition to the project which will spawn a next-gen Z4 and Supra successor, BMW and Toyota have already created a mid-engined AWD prototype, featuring carbon fiber tub and aluminum frame. Electric motors drive the front wheels, like the NSX.
This project would give Lexus an LFA successor and BMW a competitor to the Audi R8. “BMW is getting trounced in the PR war of words in Germany, with Audi saying that BMW does not have a supercar whereas Audi does,” says a source close to Lexus. BMW wants to change that, with Toyota’s help.
Car and Driver's source claims that there are two power units currently under development. BMW's supercar would use a bespoke, M-developed twin-turbo straight-six paired with plug-in-hybrid technology from Toyota. Toyota is testing a detuned version of its Le Mans TS040 race car's 520-hp, 3.7L V8 for the Lexus version of the supercar. And with the 480 horsepower produced by the front and rear motors, the total power output would reach the magic number of 1000. The source says, however, that “while 1000 horsepower is possible, fuel consumption, emissions concerns, and engine-tolerance figures will see a more realistic target figure of 800 horsepower.”
The caveat is that a business case must still be made for the collaboration. The LFA successor and R8 rival would need to carry a sticker price of around $200,000. If made, it's suggested that the supercars would arrive in 2020.
Until there's more confirmation, we'll file this in the 'yet another BMW supercar rumor' bin, especially considering
BMW's latest insistence that "we have shown how strong we are with electric boosting for performance and efficiency, plus we still have a great V8 engine here. What would we need McLaren to do for us?” Toyota's hybrid technology seems to be the major take-away of the rumored collaboration with Toyota, but it appears that BMW is plenty confident in their own electric boosting abilities.