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After much anticipation, the Japanese automaker finally threw in a manual gearbox option for its two-door sports car.
The launch of the fifth generation Toyota Supra back in 2019 was met with a lot of anticipation. Fans of the brand and the model had been looking forward to this new iteration of the car for years, but it didn’t quite meet many peoples expectations. The fact that it had the underpinnings from BMW was something that didn’t sit well with many, but the car has gradually become more and more popular, and more appreciated by those who own the car. But there was one issue. There was no manual version for the Japanese sports car.
That was until quite recently. When Toyota finally gave the world a manual version of the Supra, to complement the already excellent GR86 manual it had in its range. When before we just had an eight-speed automatic transmission from BMW at hand, we now have a BMW six-speed manual to play with in the 2022 Toyota Supra. And yes it is still a BMW transmission, but it is a good one that elevates the experience of driving the Supra. It could be a bit of a game changer for the car and Toyota, harking back to the glory days of the classic Supra models.
The manual transmission comes as part of the 2023 model year Supra, and naturally many are asking is, why now Toyota? Well simply put, the company says it is due to customer demand. Clearly, back when the car launched Toyota did not think a manual transmission would be popular. But they seemed to neglect the past of the Supra and how much a manual was part of the driving experience. The six-speed transmission as we mentioned does indeed come from BMW, which makes sense given the underpinnings of the Supra are mostly BMW.
The one thing that is quite interesting about the transmission, is the transmission itself. The eight-speed automatic transmission was effectively what you’d get in the BMW Z4, a car it shares most of its underpinnings with. This though is not a ‘plug and play’ transmission from another BMW model. The Supra has pieces from various BMW transmissions adapted to work with the Supra. So this is a bespoke transmission for this Supra, which is certainly something that is good to hear. You won’t feel this transmission experience in anything from BMW. So it's fair play on that one Toyota.
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A lot of work went into making sure this gearbox worked well with the Supra. The Gazoo Racing division of Toyota had to work to tune it specifically for the car. This included changes to the gear ratio, the drivetrains, as well as the ECU plus all the housings to make sure it not only fit, but worked well. All of this was with the aim of making the Supra that bit more enjoyable for the enthusiast, and early indications are that while the transmission itself might not blow you away, it has elevated the Supra experience.
For now at least, Toyota are just making the transmission available with the 3.0-liter inline-six cylinder engine version of the car. This engine produces 382 hp, plenty for a small sports car. To further enhance the experience of driving the Supra, Toyota worked on the final drive ratio of the car as well. In the automatic, the final drive ratio was set at 3.15. In this new, manual version however, it is set at 3.46 with the addition of the rev-matching feature as well. A feature that can also be disabled by the driver.
Toyota did not rest on their laurels at all though with the manual Supra. Two new color schemes were added to the choices for this edition, with Matte White and CU Later Gray on the limited edition model. This all helps to bring the design of the car that bit more up to date. A redesigned center console features inside as well. Of course the highlight of the car is that transmission, but its good to see Toyota have not been so focussed on that part of the Supra that they’ve neglected other areas of the car.
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While manuals as a whole are slowly dying out, the reality was that the Supra was always going to need this transmission. A manual is at the heart of what makes the Supra great, and its omission when the car first launched felt a bit puzzling at the time. Toyota though clearly heard, and in the end we got a bespoke transmission for the Supra that reminds us all as to why we fell in love with this Japanese sports car in the first place. There might be better manual transmissions out there. But it feels so right to have one in the Supra.
Covering anything from JDM cars to classic jets. Contributed to HotCars since the Autumn of 2018. Writes features, news and list articles.