Expect A Straight-Six But No Manual In The New Toyota Supra

At the Geneva Motor Show, the engineer behind the GT86 and the new Supra seemed to suggest that the latter will be auto only
Expect A Straight-Six But No Manual In The New Toyota Supra

Will the Supra have a manual gearbox option, or not? The “will they, won’t they” thing has rumbled on for months, fueled by a seemingly endless stream of conflicting rumours. Now though, we’ve had a clearest indication yet than the Supra - previewed by the GR Racing Concept at the Geneva Motor Show - will indeed be auto only.

Autoblog reports that, speaking at a rountable session at the Geneva show, high-ranking Toyota engineer Tetsuya Tada said that “Supra fans don’t think it’s a huge requirement.” Supra fans as a whole would probably disagree, but Tada-san - the man behind the GT86 - is probably more referring to Supra fans who are actually willing to stump up the cash to buy one, and in that case he’s on to something.

Like it or not, the people actually buying sports cars these days tend to opt for automatics - that’s why Alpine with its relatively limited resources didn’t make a manual. There was only scope to make one transmission choice, and a manual-only direction may well have harmed sales.

Expect A Straight-Six But No Manual In The New Toyota Supra

It’s not all bad news though, as Tada-san seemingly confirmed that the car would have a straight-six, because a Supra isn’t a Supra without one. That we can all agree on. It should be quite tuneable from the sounds of it, which is also a must if the car is to live up to the legendary name. This inline-six won’t be hooked up to a transaxle gearbox, but the Supra will still manage to have a 50:50 weight distribution.

So, when will we see the production car? Not for a while yet, is the answer. Topgear.com - which is also reporting that the Supra’s straight-six will be a “recalibrated” BMW engine - claims we’ll have to wait until the Detroit Auto Show in January 2019.

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Comments

Richard the edition 100

just transmission swap it

03/08/2018 - 16:28 |
0 | 4

And lose the warranty ;)

03/09/2018 - 00:49 |
0 | 0
TheBagel

I’m gonna call it and say that some firm will make a manual transmission for the car

03/08/2018 - 18:28 |
0 | 3

Not going to happen, when there’s plenty T158 in the world

03/09/2018 - 00:49 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

In my opinion, a manufacturer with the financial means like Toyota should offer a manual option, even if it’s not that profitable to the company. After all the Supra isn’t a car that will bring Toyota as much profit as the Prius.

03/08/2018 - 18:35 |
0 | 3
Igor Konuhov

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

You do not comprehend how buisness works. Sorry

03/09/2018 - 00:48 |
2 | 0
Klush

The Toyota Supra is the definition of an emotional rollercoaster.

03/08/2018 - 20:24 |
0 | 0
Foxx

add a manual trim aswell

03/08/2018 - 21:25 |
0 | 0
Jia the Supra Fanboy

I tried to stay away from this post because I knewwhat would happen in the comments section.

10 hours later, I accidentally(?) clicked on it and behold, I find exactly what I expected in the comments section. PURE AND UTTER BULLSHIT.

I hate people. People who rave and rant without reading/understanding a thing, then try to disguise their crappy opinion as fact.

03/08/2018 - 21:46 |
3 | 0

Welcome to Carthrottle 2018, where preteens reign supreme and opinions are fact

03/08/2018 - 22:30 |
3 | 0

Welcome to Car Throttle. That’s why I don’t frequent this site anymore

03/08/2018 - 22:57 |
3 | 0
Leandro Lien

This car is taking so long to get on the road that by the times it does it will be old news.

03/08/2018 - 23:55 |
0 | 0
Igor Konuhov

It’s a BMW, with an engine starting with an “N” by the looks of things. And you want it to be tune-able? To the level of a 2JZ maybe? Keep dreaming. Supra revival turned out to be crap, we all knew it would happen, but for some reason we all still pretend to be hyped for this?

03/09/2018 - 00:47 |
1 | 0

the N54 has a good forged block for tuning, doesn’t it??

03/09/2018 - 08:02 |
0 | 0

wait a minute. i forgot, you’re literally a BMW expert. My bad.

The N54 was pretty tuneable. why so dissatisfied?

I for one, will judge the car when it’s actually available to drive… which won’t be for a while

03/09/2018 - 08:03 |
0 | 0

N54s are considered the modern 2JZs lol. Remove the complicated TT system and go single and it can make 6-700hp easy

03/11/2018 - 09:24 |
0 | 0
Honda NSX

Obligatory “reee no manual” whining

Honestly I don’t care that much if it’s not a manual, just as long as it’s crisp and quick.

03/09/2018 - 04:00 |
0 | 0
Lauge

rip…. i hope the z5 will have a manual

03/09/2018 - 07:24 |
0 | 0