Since the Toyota Supra is powered by a BMW-sourced engine, it will always have to grapple with the perception that it has BMW DNA running through it. That perception often leads to questions about the Supra and how it could compete against real BMWs. We know that it can beat its sister-from-another-mother, the Z4 Roadster. But what happens if you pit the Supra against a Bimmer like, say, the M2 Competition? Sure, we’ve seen this race before, too. The M2 Competition has the edge over the Supra, but the results haven’t been as lopsided as you might think despite the significant difference in power and performance between the two models. Car Magazine SA sought to find an answer to that question. Can the Toyota Supra beat the BMW M2 Competition? Sometimes, it takes more than a few runs to find an answer, and past races notwithstanding, we get a clear look this time if the Japanese sports car with the German DNA can beat the purebred German beast in a drag race. The results, as you can imagine, are interesting.

The tale of the tape between the Toyota Supra and the BMW M2 Competition is decidedly one-sided. On the one hand, you have the Supra that’s powered by a BMW-sourced 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine that produces 355 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque. On the other hand, you have a BMW M2 Competition that comes with a similarly sized 3.0-liter inline-six, but with two turbochargers instead of one. The result of that is an output of 405 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. On paper, the M2 Competition should easily dispose of the Supra without so much as a drop of sweat.

But as is often the case in the auto industry, surprises happen when you least expect them. Without divulging the results of the actual race this early, the Supra did better than what you’d expect given its perceived handicaps against the M2 Competition. Even with the less powerful engine, the Supra managed to pull a few surprises that during the race that makes you think if those reports that Toyota undersold the Supra’s true power and performance potential has some merit to it.

In the end, though, the M2 Competition beats out the Supra in a race that was a lot closer than we expected. That tells us a few things about both sports coupes. In the Supra’s case, it’s not a kitten trying to be a cat. The claws are out with the Japanese sports car and there’s no denying that. For the Supra to come close to beating a decidedly more powerful sports car — at least as far as numbers go — is an impressive accomplishment, regardless if it lost the race.

On that end, the BMW M2 Competition is a bad boy. All the hype that surrounded its arrival has been met with flying colors, and it makes you wonder, too. If the BMW M2 Competition is this fast, what’s going to happen when the BMW M2 CS arrives? All hell will break loose. That’s what’s going to happen.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW M2 Competition.

Driving the 2020 Toyota Supra On the Track and the Street

Read our full driven review on the 2020 Toyota Supra.

Read our review of the 2020 Toyota Supra