Toyota says it’s developed an all-new, tailor-made transmission for the GR Supra coming soon.
Back in 2020, the 2023 Toyota Supra’s chief engineer Tetsuya Tada hinted that a manual version of the car could come one day, if demand for it remained high. Ever since, the rumor mill has long speculated a stick-shift Supra was in the works, and today, Toyota’s European division finally confirmed that the 2023 Toyota Supra will be getting a “all-new, tailor-made” manual transmission model.
Included in today’s exciting press release were two images; one showing the new badging for the stick-shift model, which will get a new red-colored “Supra” badge to distinguish it from the automatic models currently on sale. The second image shows us three pedals, just in case we didn’t believe Toyota’s words. The announcement that it will be an “all-new” transmission suggests it won’t be borrowing anything from BMW, which shares the Supra platform with its Z4 roadster. Instead, we could get a new Toyota unit, and that’s almost unbelievable.
The Supra is currently on sale with either a 255-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4, or a 382-horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter I-6, and the rumor mill suggests the new transmission will likely only be equipped on the latter, more powerful (and more expensive) model. Judging from previous exec comments, it’s also possible that the manual GR Supra could just be a limited run, as future special editions of the car have been hinted at before. However, considering how much work would likely go into an all-new transmission (even one borrowed), we expect the option to stick around for the Supra’s lifecycle.
Toyota says the “Toyota GR Supra Manual Transmission has been engineered to offer enthusiasts something closer to the GAZOO Racing DNA that also enhances the driving experience.” The tease suggest more information will be available in a few weeks time, finishing off with a “Save the Manuals” hashtag. Toyota USA also teased the new manual Supra on Twitter, so it’s likely coming stateside, as well.
