It Looks Like The New Toyota Supra Will Be Automatic-Only

In what has to be a big disappointment for people hoping for a manual Supra to get their teeth into, the latest information gleaned from test mules suggests that the Supra won't have a manual option at all

Matt Kimberley

06 Jun 2017

The upcoming Toyota Supra will only have an automatic gearbox unless the company decides to build a non-hybrid version, if new information to come from Autocar is accurate.

A sneaky new spy picture taken through the slightly open window of a Supra test mule shows an automatic gear lever as one of several pieces of obviously BMW-sourced trim in the cabin. The wide iDrive rotary dial and widescreen media interface are both also straight out of the BMW parts bin. That confirms that the traditional oily bits are going to be BMW’s.

At the moment, sources say that Totyota is only going to fit a hybrid drivetrain to the Supra, and manual shifting isn’t yet possible with it. Instead, Autocar says that Toyota is going to use an eight-speed BMW automatic with different ratios to the Z4 sister car.

The hybrid setup won’t be your average kind, though, instead using a WEC-derived intelligent four-wheel drive system with the conventional drive going to the rear wheels and electric motors at the front wheels assisting where necessary. Energy will be recouped via regenerative braking and from combustion itself, being stored in supercapacitors like those in the LMP1 TS030 racer.

On the other hand, other websites are still reporting that there will be entry-level non-hybrid versions of the Supra for some markets. The cold truth is that we can’t be sure yet, and Toyota is staying tight-lipped.

While the Z4 will have hard- and soft-top options, the Supra will only be a coupe focused on forward-looking technology. Prices are expected to start in the low £30,000s.

Comments

Is that a Kia Stinger GT at 0:59 ?

You already know

I hate the fact that manufacturers hybritise all the performance cars yet most “regular” cars are petrol or diesel.

It should be the other way. All these Corollas and Camrys and Yarises and what not must have been all electric or hybrid by now.

With the only non-hybrid cars being any performance cars, like the GT86 (thank lord thats not yet a hybrid) and the Supra and TRD series and so on.

This is all upside down now: you make millions of 3.5L V6 Camrys and hoping to help the environment by making the only exciting car hybrid, which is going to be like 0.05% of sales anyways?

I know there are other issues at hand, such as higher costs of hybrids (hence its easier to turn more expensive cars into hybrids), but thats at least what they should aiming for. Replace the V6 in the Camry with a hybrid system. And leave the Supra petrol only with manual or auto. Not only this will actually help the environment, this will also make the enthusiasts happier.

Toyota, you’d better make a manual version cause I plan to be a buyer of a new Supra Mk5 in the future. So I’m not just talking fanboy trash. Gimme a manual!

Will it have a 3JZ?

Ffs kys yourself

😡

If its gott a flappy paddle gearbox then its not as bad.

I realize that “Automatics” in the present can be both faster and more fuel-efficient than Manuals, attributes that used to be in favor of the old stick. But, you know what…fvck all that logic! The joy of driving stick, especially in a car like this, is far more important to me than shaving off tenths of a second or getting better gas mileage!