Late last year there was talk of a joint supercar to be built by BMW and Toyota, a rethink of the Lexus LFA, with a hybrid twist. Now it looks like BMW's partnership with Toyota will also include a mid-engined, two seat, hybrid sports car, priced right in the same range as the Porsche Carrera.
This particular collaboration vehicle will be developed in Munich and a model will be released by each brand, like the Subaru BRZ and its Toyota equivalent. The Silk Road (SR2), as it's called at the moment, possible future Z7 and Lexus ZC/ZR, will be powered by two different versions of a 3.0 liter twin-turbo inline six. It's believed that both cars will share a 150 bhp electric motor, performance batteries that are housed between the seats, seven speed dual-clutch transmission, composite brakes, adjustable suspension, active aero bits and electric power steering. Power output for the SR2 would be in the 400 to 500 horsepower range, with a weight under 3630 pounds.
The SR2 sounds like it will be an impressive car, for both manufacturers. A car to compete with the 911 would be quite an accomplishment. It seems like the SR2 would take a lot of elements from BMW though and I don't really see what Toyota would be adding to the partnership on this, do you?
Source Car Magazine