BMW Z4 M40i Handschalter v Toyota Supra – car pictures of the week

When Toyota first introduced a manual gearbox option for the Supra in 2022, it felt it’d be a matter of time before BMW would follow suit in giving the technically-related Z4 three-pedals. As it happens, BMW waited until this year before building a manual Z4, and the option is packaged with the new, more driver focused Handschalter model. 

In issue 325 of evo, we test the Handschalter against the Supra to find out which executes the manual straight-six sports car formula more successfully. You can read the feature by picking up a copy of the magazine in-store or online via the evo shop. 

The latest Z4 has established itself as more of a GT than an out-and-out sports car, but the Handschalter shifts that balance slightly. There are new mixed-size wheels (19s at the front, 20s at the rear), stiffer front roll bar mounts, retuned steering and revised calibrations for the rear dampers and M-differential. 

Gearbox aside, the drivetrain is familiar, with a turbocharged in-line six generating 335bhp, 369lb ft of torque and propelling the Handschalter to 62mph in 4.6sec. The same engine and platform underpin the Supra, but as our man John Barker found out, there are differences in the way each car delivers its performance. 

‘In the Supra you get the same high scuttle that makes judging the extremities a challenge and then on top of that, literally, you have the coupe roof that makes the cockpit darker and more confined in feel. The straight-six is more muted and different in character too. In the BMW its delivery is pretty conventional, taking a little while to get into its turbocharged stride but the Toyota pulls astonishingly well virtually from tickover and just gets stronger and stronger, as if it has a chunk less kerb weight to haul. That’s not the case – there’s less than 100kg between the two – but the Supra feels thrillingly faster.’

Get your copy of evo 325 to find out which comes out on top.