It Looks Like The New Toyota Supra Will Be Automatic-Only
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
My reaction now
Let’s all shed a tear in silence or rage on our keyboards because BMW and Toyota dare put modern technology in a modern coupe in a market where the opposition chews you up and spits you out for breakfast if you’re not techie enough.
Let’s all screech like the autistic madmen we are because the car that nobody cared about while it was in production, then became a cult legend thanks to a film we all saw as teens will not be the same thing it was back in 1995, today, in 2017…
Hurr durr, I am 15, have only driven Forza and Need for Speed but I hate automatics, Manuals for life, bro. The joy of shifting 237 times over 10 km of gridlock is just sooooooooooo much fun. It is epic, I can’t imagine anything better, it’s pure driving nirvana.
I drove an automatic for the first time today, didn’t like it. Put it into semi auto after a only a couple minutes and I wanted to reach for the clutch a couple of times. Don’t like it.
That moment, when it is the new RX-7 because of the numberplate and not the new Supra.
Il wait for the roadster with more power
Because thats what BMW does
Automatic, no big stock Wang CAN IY GET ANY WORSE!!! Plz Toyota make this car as good as the last supra for god sake
What is life
The Dodge Demon has inspired manufacturers to screw the public like a horny man on a subway full of japanese prostitutes. Why even have a sports car (supra) if you remove the sports aspect completely? Shifting is the sport, without it you might as well have 2 identical trains racing.
PLEASE DON’T HURT ME
People still care about this thing???