The first of a series of BMW-Toyota projects will be a two-seater sports car that will father both a radically different BMW Z4 replacement and a spiritual successor to the Supra Toyota previewed in Detroit with the FT-1 concept. Featuring a front-engined layout, the new sports car will be four-wheel-drive and utilize a performance-boosting supercapacitor hybrid system Toyota has featured in its Le Mans LMP1 program.

Toyota will develop the new plug-in hybrid system that uses supercapacitors instead of lithium-ion batteries as they can discharge kinetic energy more rapidly, while being smaller and lighter. The Toyota Yaris Hybrid R unveiled in Frankfurt with a whopping 414 hp previewed a supercapacitor hybrid system, the basics of which will be used by the new sports car. A BMW-enginered gasoline engine, up to 2.0 liters in size, will combine with electric motors BMW will build to Toyota specifications with power being delivered via a sequential manual gearbox.

BMW will also take care of the body engineering, adopting lightweight solutions used in the i3/i8, so a combination of high-strength steel, aluminum and carbon fiber. Autocar reports the alliance will include shared platforms, new hybrid drivetrains, common engineering solutions and shared components. However, new BMW and Toyota models will of course come with individual styling and interior designs.