Toyota Supra mk5

After a 17-year absence, the Supra came back in 2019, and it did so by shaking hands with an old rival. The A90 GR Supra was co-developed with BMW and shares its bones with the Z4, which means the heart of it is BMW's B58, a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six. That shared parentage set off a long-running debate about whether a Supra with a German engine still counts as a Supra. My opinion... I'd rather Toyota did it themselves, but in a world where we might have no Supra, I'm happy the A90 exists. It's certainly a much better outcome than the last time Germany and Japan teamed up.

Jokes aside, the B58 engine is excellent. It's smooth, torquey, and underrated on the spec sheet (around 335 horsepower at first, later raised to 382), and it carries on the Supra habit of responding eagerly to tuning. Early cars came only with an eight-speed automatic, but Toyota listened to the grumbling and added a proper six-speed manual for 2023, which is the version enthusiasts had been holding out for. There is also a cheaper four-cylinder 2.0 in the range, but if you're going to get the Supra whose heritage is already a bit in question... at least get the one with a 6.

Whether you read the BMW collaboration as a clever way to revive a loved name or a small asterisk on the badge, the result is a quick, charming, tossable sports car. As the Supra you can still buy new, it is also the easiest and most approachable way into the bloodline.