Which is why beneath their very similar skins, the Z4 and Supra are essentially the same: the same 335bhp 3.0-litre, single-turbo, six-cylinder BMW motor driving through the same eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox to the rear wheels. The suspension hardware is the same, as is the platform upon which both cars are built. And both go down exactly the same line at Magna Steyr’s factory in Austria.
The difference, says Toyota, is the way Gazoo Racing has tuned the car. Once the basic engineering had been agreed, the Supra was developed without further reference to the Z4, to the extent that in the seven years since the joint venture came into being, the Supra’s chief engineer has driven a Z4 just once, after it had been finished, and only briefly.
Toyota’s contention is that while the Z4 is a traditional grand touring convertible, its Supra is a pure sports car, a much closer rival in concept to a Porsche 718 Cayman than anything sporting a BMW badge.