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…