Why Did They Fail?

You may have heard that the Toyota Supra – which is actually a re-skinned and re-badged BMW Z4 – has been cancelled. So also the Z4. It’s perhaps worth doing a post mortem to ascertain the cause of death, since both of these sports cars were appealing cars. It’s obvious why the Cybertruck didn’t make it; the thing is embarrassing to be seen in and functionally ridiculous. It is a “truck” that is largely useless for doing things most people buy a truck to do, such as hauling gravel or sheetrock in the bed and or towing RVs and trailers for hundreds of miles at a time.

The Cybertruck was very good at going very quickly, which is a good thing since it’s so hideous and stupid the faster it gets out of our sight the better.

On the other hand, the Supra/Z4 is a fine sports car; either iteration is very appealing to people who like sports cars. They are both balls-to-the-walls fun to drive (I have test driven them both and so say that based on personal experience) and good-looking, too.

But they have become very expensive cars, thanks to the devaluation of the buying power of the dollar. Back in 2020 – just six years ago – both of these cars had a base price just under $50k. Today, the same BMW starts $56,100 while the Toyota starts at $58,300. Ordinarily, a Toyota-badged vehicle would be priced below a BMW-badged iteration of the same thing. However, Toyota prices its version of this sports car higher because the Supra comes standard with the inline six that is optional in the BMW.

That’s interesting, too – because you’d think the more prestigious-brand BMW would come standard with the six, while the more mass-market (in terms of brand) Toyota would offer a lower-priced trim with a smaller, less powerful engine.

Meanwhile, BMW sells – tries to sell – its version with an underwhelming four cylinder engine for $56k-plus to start. Both are non-starters – because most people who want a sports car can’t afford a nearly $60k-to-start Toyota sports car and most people who can afford a BMW sports car probably want more than a four cylinder-powered one for $56k-plus to start. They could buy one with a six – for $68,400. That’s what BMW is asking right now for the same thing Toyota is asking for a Supra with a six. There aren’t many people in a position to buy a an almost-$70k two seater BMW, either.

So, there’s the pricing (and branding) problem, which exacerbate the inherent problem all sports cars have, which is that they are impractical. They are basically motorcycles with a bit more storage; lots of fun but most people will need another vehicle for going to the store and picking stuff up. How many can afford the fun car and the practical car in this economy?

Not many. Last year, Toyota sold 2,953 Supras in the U.S. BMW sold even fewer (about 2,100).

Another problem was that for the first several years of production, both BMW and Toyota would only sell you an automatic-equipped Z4. The problem here is that most people who buy sports cars want to shift for themselves. Mazda’s Miata sports car is available with an automatic but by about two-thirds, Miata buyers stick with the standard six speed manual. Not because the manual can be shifted with greater precision and consistency but because it’s more fun to shift a manual transmission than it is to just sit there and push down on the accelerator pedal. It was a huge mistake for BMW and Toyota to deny buyers even the option to shift for themselves; it was a mistake Toyota fixed in 2023 and BMW fixed in 2025, when both put a manual on the roster as an option – but only with the six.

Why not with the four?

If anything, a sports car with a four is in more need of a manual – to make up for the lack of power. The same sports car with a six that has much more power is fun all-by-itself. The Mazda Miata has a not-especially-powerful four cylinder engine but it’s a lot of fun to drive because you can really work that engine – yourself – by shifting that six speed manual transmission. I remember test driving the Toyota Supra when it was new and also the Z4 (review is here) back in ’22 and ’23 and being disappointed by the  four cylinder/automatic experience. The much less expensive Miata and also the similar Toyota GR86, which is basically a Subaru BRZ are more fun to drive because they’re more involving to drive than the automatic-only versions of the Supra and Z4.

Also – sexist comment coming but there’s truth in it – four cylinder/automatic sports cars are chiefly for women. Check out who buys almost all automatic Miatas. Another way of saying this is that both BMW and Toyota turned off most potential male buyers of the more affordable, four cylinder -powered version of their sports cars and a lot of men who wanted the six with the stick when it finally became available couldn’t afford it.

The coroners report thus concludes the twins died from complications arising from a birth defect corrected too late, exacerbated by the wasting disease of just being too expensive (thanks to the bankers’ gyp) to be viable.

. . .

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