Toyota has announced that the GR Supra coupe is to receive the option of a six-speed manual gearbox. The move follows the company having "listened to sports car fans and customers" and the manual transmission will be included as an option on 3.0-litre versions of the Supra, the only kind sold through official channels in Ireland.
Thus far, the 340hp Supra has only been offered with an eight-speed automatic as standard, and the addition of the manual to the Supra line-up means that all of Toyota's GR sports models in Europe - the Supra, GR Yaris and GR86 - are now available as manuals, although the GR86 (replacing the GT86) isn't sold here.
Designed to suit straight-six
The manual gearbox has, according to Toyota, been specifically designed to suit the power and torque characteristics of the Supra's straight-six engine. The new unit is lighter than the automatic thanks to fewer parts and features a larger, beefed-up clutch to deal with enthusiastic use. The company describes the unit as an "Intelligent Manual Transmission" that uses computer software to optimise the amount of torque available during upshifts and downshifts. The control system can be switched off in Sport mode if the driver prefers to entirely use their own judgement when changing gears - in terms of matching the engine revs.
As well as the gearbox itself, the traction control system has been reworked to handle the characteristics of the manual transmission and is designed to prevent the kind of wheelspin that might be encountered when trying to move away from rest with one set of wheels on a slippery surface, such as a muddy grass verge. There's also a new "Hairpin+" function that allows just enough wheel slip to have fun on tight switchback turns "like those found on European mountain roads".
Further small tweaks include changes to the brake control system to allow greater stability under heavy braking, and a revised anti-roll system to help prevent snap oversteer.
Weight saving
The manual GR Supra is slightly lighter, saving 38.3kg over the automatic car. The manual transmission and fitment of new 19-inch wheels make up 21.8kg of that though the extra 16.5kg is saved at the cost of a few of the car's luxury items such as the leather upholstery on the seats, electric seat adjustment and lumbar support.
Irish pricing and availability of the updated GR Supra and the cost differences between manual and automatic versions have yet to be announced.