New Supra May Have A Manual Transmission And A Toyota Engine After All
Been hankering after another Supra rumour to contradict every other Supra rumour we’ve heard in the last few weeks? You’re in luck!
It all started on the IH8Mud forum earlier this month, from a user who claims to have sat down with a Toyota representative, mostly to discuss the Land Cruiser. However, the subject of the new Supra was brought up, and a few weeks on, that part of the conversation been picked up by various online motoring media outlets, and spread like wildfire.
During the conversation, an early 2019 release date for the Supra was mentioned, along with a 400bhp output, and yes, a manual gearbox option. It gets more interesting, as the representative apparently claimed that the car won’t use a BMW turbocharged straight-six, and is instead more likely to use a 3.5-litre V6, potentially one co-developed with the Bavarian manufacturer. There may end up being a hybrid at some stage.
All this flies in the face of a leaked document seen recently, which purported to show the engine line-up for the jointly developed Supra and the G29 BMW Z4. Going by that, the Supra would have a pair of turbocharged BMW engines - an inline-four and an inline-six - with an automatic being the only transmission choice.
So, which is true? Perhaps the information from the mysterious Toyota rep, perhaps the leaked document (plus other rumours concerning an auto-only Supra), or perhaps both will turn out to be nonsense. We should hopefully know soon, as the new sports car is expected to make its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October.
Then again, that could just be another unfounded rumour…
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
PLEASE! OH GOD PLEASE LET THE SUPRA LOOK LIKE THE FT-1! PLEASE!
I still dont get what people find so attractive about this car
I Wish it has twin turbo v6
For all we know, it might not even end up being called the Supra. It’s all a mystery. Personally I’ll wait till it’s revealed before making any judgements
I imagine the manual would be on the lower variant while the top “3JZ” would only have the auto since most manuals dont seem to handle 300bhp well with good reliablity given the torque from the hybrid unit.
Not handle 300HP? Come on man, Manuals can handle MORE than that, the Cayman GT4, Dodge Viper/Challenger Hellcat, Camaro ZL1 (along with the 1LE), Ford Mustang, Shelby GT350 (and the 350R) and many more.
Whether it’s a manual or an automatic transmission or whatnot doesn’t really matter. Manuals cannot withstand more (or less) torque than autos per se. It all depends on the actual gear wheels. Manuals have a clutch, autos have a torque converter instead. Both can be made pretty durable, but that’s a question of cost for both.
The reason we don’t see manuals on electric or hybrid cars is because it makes no sense from the view of the manufacturer. To make the electric engine and the ICE work together at the highest efficiency, the manufacturer doesn’t want the driver to interfere with the gear selection. They take away freedom of gear selection from the driver so that either motor can always predict which gear comes next and react accordingly. On a manual transmission, that’s much more difficult to realise.
Another thing is that the manual transmission has the reputation of being “old” eventually. In a car that wants to advertise itself as being modern, a manual transmission has no place. Either automatic or some dual clutch transmission if manual-ish gear selection is really wished (see above).
So the Z4 and Supra will use different engines, one will be a coupe and one will be a convertible, at one point I think I heard that they will even have different wheelbase lengths. When they say they are being “co-developed” by BMW and Toyota, it sounds like that may be pretty loose co-development
Please make it hybrid atleast, and give it a Dual clutch only option
Forget that a Manual gearbox needs to be done
Although I would like to see the new Supra with the Top end model offering a✌Twin Turbo inline-6 and the manual gearbox (even if the autobox is an optional extra) I would get mad😡😡😡😡😣😣😣 if Toyota will not release the car in India which is the country where I live.
BTW, I don’t have a car because I’m still a little young to get a driver’s lisence and finally get a car of my own🚘
New Supra reactions:”We’re building a new Supra
HYPE HYPE HYPE… it’ll have only bmw engines, it’ll be a hybrid and only auto… disappointment disappointment disappointment…
Forget everything, huge V6, manual and badass styling… HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE”
Thank you Toyota for the emotion rollercoaster
Honestly, this isn’t a Supra. This is a sellout. Supra was advanced for it’s time. It’s either a dual clutch hybrid, or not a supra. End.
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I really cant be bothered about this car honestly.
If this is true I’m dissapointed. World needs more EVs and Hybrid. And Supra needs to be Supra, not a conservative sellout.