'Contentious' is one way to describe the new fifth-generation Toyota Supra.
After one of the most drawn-out launches in recent motoring history, the two-door sports-car was revealed in full in January. Looks were as expected (having been gratuitously leaked in the build-up), with output sitting at 250kW and 500Nm — good for a 0–100km/h of 4.1 seconds.
Read more: New Toyota Supra packs 250kW, does 100km/h in four seconds
But Supra faithful were, predictably, lukewarm to the new Supra for two big reasons. Reason one; its indicated figures aren't much quicker than what the hallowed fourth-gen model could put down. And reason two — perhaps more to the point — was that under the skin and behind those figures was a car based heavily on the new BMW Z4. Many claimed that the new Supra 'wasn't a real Supra', and decried more than anything else the presence of the turbocharged BMW 'B58' inline six engine.
Enter Chicago-based tuning company CX Racing. In a somewhat inevitable move, the modified-car firm appear to be the first off the rank to announce a twin-turbo 2JZ-GTE engine swap kit for the new Supra.
Beyond the company's social media confirmation, embedded above, not a lot else is known yet about the conversion. That includes pricing, international availability, or whether any alterations to the Supra's structure are required to make the twin-turbo unit fit. But, it's safe to say that this will be the first package of likely many to become available to the tuner market.
The new package is one of many Supra-orientated modifications that CX Racing offers. They also offer extensive LS, SR20, and 13B swap kits, among many other parts on their website. Googling into their past, it appears that CX Racing products attract plenty of mixed reviews. Although conversely, they're also at the cheap end of the spectrum ... so potentially there's an element of 'you get what you pay for' to the story.
Despite the strong, 'vocal minority' calls splayed all over social media upon the new Supra's release that it simply needed to come with a 2JZ engine in order to be a true Supra, CX Racing's posted news has also had mixed reaction from followers.
"You probably won't sell a lot of these kits. Anyone that can afford a Mk5 isn't dumb enough to swap a 30-year-old engine in it, and anyone who wants a 2JZ Mk5 can't afford one," said one commenter. "Imagine spending $15,000 to be slower than some dude who's got twin Taiwanese Typhoons and a 150 shot of dentist gas on his B58," hilariously mused another.
That second point got a chortle out of us, but it's also true. What many of the 2JZ's most vocal fans on social media don't seem to be capable of grasping is that BMW's B58 is an inline-six icon in its own right. Even though it's only four-years-old it's already spawned a healthy aftermarket following (particularly in Europe), and ... come on ... if anyone knows how to make an inline-six, it's probably BMW.
The Yamaha-built 2JZ engine, as good as it is, turns 26-years-old this year. Developing a new variant of the old dog (let alone developing a new engine from the ground up entirely) would be a very expensive process, and a complex one with today's stringent emissions requirements for all engines.