TOYOTA SUPRA 2.0 v PORSCHE 718 CAYMAN
Supra and Cayman can both be had with 2-litre four-cylinder engines that pack a surprising punch, but which is the sweeter steer? We find out on road and track
They’re the affordable options in their respective ranges, but should you want your four-cylinder motor up front or in the middle? John Barker finds out
ON ONE LEVEL, THIS IS A BATTLE of philosophies. In the Toyota you have the classic front-engine/rear-drive coupe, represented here by the Supra in its fourcylinder form, less powerful than the straightsix but lighter and better-balanced, boasting that holy grail 50:50 weight distribution. Then you have the Cayman, also fourcylinder, representing the mid-engined layout and its low polar moment of inertia. Obviously, it’s no happy coincidence that their loans coincide with a booking at the Bedford Autodrome. It’s cold and a bit damp but that’s just fine.
These may be the least potent versions of their ranges but the Supra’s Bmw-sourced, turbocharged 2-litre inline four still pumps out a useful 254bhp and, just as pertinently, an impressive 295lb ft from just 1550rpm. This is fed to a pair of fat 285/40 ZR18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports via an electrically controlled, adaptive limited-slip diff. Sounds like a recipe for exciting onand over-the-limit adventures.
The Cayman offers even more go. We’ve not been fans of the soundtrack of the 718’s turbocharged flatfour since it was introduced in 2016 (we remember the flat-six so fondly). You can’t deny it’s potent for a 2-litre, though, developing a rude 296bhp and 280lb ft at just over 2000rpm. And while the Supra might need the help of a slippy diff to get its torque to the road, the Cayman can manage without, thanks to the mass of its engine sitting just ahead of its rear wheels.
The large-radius hairpin at the far end of the West Circuit looks inviting in the thin light. If it was on the road it would be large, deserted roundabout, its surface glistening, and as you approached it you’d be stabbing buttons or touchscreens or whatever to disable traction control, intent on a bit of fun.
It’s a surprise, then, to discover that even after you’ve disabled their stability and traction control systems, you have to work pretty hard to get either the Supra or Cayman to power oversteer. Simply turn in carrying speed and you’ll feel the front lose grip and push into understeer. Cue pouty bottom lip. Of course, on the road a bit of front-end slip is useful, a safe indicator that you’re on the limit of grip and that if you use more throttle the rear tyres might lose theirs. That’s exactly what we want here, where we have the space to play and learn, yet it takes a lot of provocation.
The amount of grip the Porsche finds is not surprising. Over the years we’ve learned that Caymans and Boxsters are uncannily grippy in these conditions, as if they’re on super-sticky rain tyres. Still, it’s surprising that even when you’ve successfully upset the Cayman – backing off sharply as you turn in to transfer weight from the rear to the front, and then hitting the throttle – that it quickly runs out of puff and grip reasserts itself. It feels well balanced, every bit as sweetly and confidently
‘YOU HAVE TO WORK PRETTY HARD TO GET EITHER SUPRA OR CAYMAN TO POWER OVERSTEER’