The official unveiling of the new 2020 Toyota Supra at the North American International Auto Show and Chevrolet announcing the 2020 Eighth Generation (C8) Corvette reveal in July 2019 typically wouldn’t have much in common. However, social media comments and forum posts made by faithful fans reveals a common theme: they aren’t happy. Complaints from both tribes center around their beloved sports car straying from the traditional formula. While everyone can sympathize with resistance to change, today’s auto enthusiast can’t afford to dismiss a new version of their favorite car because it’s different from past generations. Let’s take a look at the issues causing complaints among the die hard fans of these two vehicles and why the changes are necessary.
2020 (A90) Toyota Supra
The complaints
Toyota Supra fans have waited 20 years for the new version to arrive. The first hint of a possible return was the FT-1 prototype shown in 2014. A year later, Toyota announced a collaboration with BMW to build a new sports car. Since then, leaks and prototype sightings gave fans hope a new Supra is on the way. When it did arrive, Supra fans declared the vehicle isn’t, “Japanese enough” since the design, major components and even the plant building the vehicle isn’t 100% Toyota’s. The hang up is the jointly developed platform, suspension architecture, infotainment system, and some interior pieces shared with the G29 generation BMW Z4, This leads many to state it should not wear Supra badge at all.
They are missing the point!
There is no denying BMW’s role in the development of the new Supra. BMW part numbers and logos can be found all over the the car, it uses the ZF 8-speed transmission found in many BMW (not to mention Audi’s, Dodge’s, Jeeps, etc), and a version of BMW’s fantastic B58 inline-6 engine is found under the hood. Those complaining fail to realize Toyota and BMW parted ways on vehicle development in 2014. Toyota took the final platform and went to work tuning it into a unique vehicle. Based on driving impressions from a Toyota sponsored event in early May 2019, the differences in performance and driving character between the Z4 and the Supra are quite noticeable from behind the wheel. Everything from suspension tuning to exhaust note are different. The Toyota is a sharper, more performance focused car than the convertible BMW.
2020 C8 Corvette
The Complaints
While not nearly as controversial as the the new Supra, the mid-engined C8 Corvette Chevrolet due to appear July 2019 caused a ripple of discord across some elements of it’s highly loyal fan base as well. Loyal Corvette fans aren’t complaining about the engine under the hood or the plant where it’s built, but the placement of the engine and how it changes the appearance.
Ever since the first Corvette rolled off the production line in 1953, the engine has been in the front of the car feeding power to the rear wheels. This formula creates a very balanced platform which is stable and easy to drive safely when pushing a Corvette to its limits. This layout establishes not only predictable driving experience, but also drives the car to have a long, sleek hood line with the passenger and cargo area pushed towards the rear. This is a visual style the Corvette has carried for 67 years. The C8 Corvette will completely change the engine layout and the traditional visual appearance of the car all at once. The engine moves to the middle of the car behind the driver and the car will now have a very short front area in front of the driver area and a long sloped back. This change fosters complaints of not only breaking with an engine placement which has served the car so well for decades, but also the unique appearance becoming very similar to many of the mid-engined supercars on the market.
A Matter of Physics
For six decades the Corvette has steadily become more powerful and capable of achieving higher levels of performance. This leads to the car hitting the performance limits a front engine/rear drive platform can deliver. When reading through many of the reviews and performance tests of the C7 Corvette’s fire-breathing Z06 and ZR1 models this becomes apparent. Most love driving the cars on the track and street, but they freely admit the car is a handful to control due to the current platform having a hard time effectively putting down the power in a controlled manner.
Car and Driver magazine does a great job of describing why the 2020 Corvette had to become a mid-engine car. Every advantage of a mid-engine platform centers around where the weight of the engine sits in the car. Placing the engine’s weight in the center of the car creates a center of balance will enable the C8 Corvette to corner, brake, and accelerate in ways not possible if the engine remains ahead of the driver. Those responsible for developing nearly every generation of the Corvette have known all along a mid engine layout was what the car really needed to reach it’s peak potential.
It’s All About Survival
Neither Chevrolet nor Toyota set out to disenfranchise their most loyal fans, but made bold choices to ensure their flagship vehicles live on.
The Corvette has always held a reputation for providing world class performance at a price point well below the competition. Direct competitors such as the Porsche 911, Acura NSX, Audi R8, and the Lamborghini Huracan continue to get better each year and recent high performance coupe’s like Ford Mustang GT 350, Chevrolet’s own Camaro ZL1, and the BMW M4 Competition delivering performance at or near the Corvette’s, all mean it must evolve. Moving the engine to the center of the car and creating a platform capable of delivering world class levels of performance above the competition is the first step.
The Supra is vital to Toyota shedding its image of being a auto maker who only produces bland, boring to drive vehicles. Unfortunately, they face a market where customers prefer SUV’s to cars, and sports car sales produce only the slimmest profit margins…if at all. Toyota simply can’t afford to develop a low sales volume, low profit margin car on their own. Partnering with another company with a similar passion and competence in producing performance cars to share development costs makes sense and will be more common in the future.
Embrace Them Or Lose Them
In the U.S., SUV’s and trucks steadily push passenger cars out of the market. Ford’s announcement they were ending sales of all cars in the US except the Mustang (RIP Fiesta ST, Focus ST and Focus RS) is a prime example. Sports cars sales decline across all major brands, so if enthusiast want to ensure fun to drive cars are not replaced by more large, heavy, soggy handling, passenger pods, we must celebrate every time a new performance car arrives or a current one is updated. There are simply too few performance cars left for car enthusiasts to get hung up over trivial things like brand loyalty, “purity” of an automaker’s development efforts, or a major change in the platform. The survival of performance focused cars is no longer certain.