As quickly as the present Supra was launched for the 2020 mannequin 12 months, the calls flooded Toyota’s PR desk: The place’s the manual-transmission model? For a lot of fans, one thing simply did not sit proper about such a legendary nameplate on the prime of the model’s Gazoo Racing–developed lineup being obtainable solely with an computerized. Happily, Toyota heeded the decision to save the manuals, introducing a stick-shift Supra for 2023, and it is pretty much as good as we would hoped.
Accessible as a no-cost choice on the three.0 and three.0 Premium fashions, the brand new six-speed stick mates solely to the Supra’s pretty 382-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six. The bottom turbo 2.0-liter 4 stays computerized solely. Pricing kicks off at $53,595. There additionally will probably be a 500-unit run of A91-MT particular editions, which for $59,440 add model-exclusive paint choices and trim, plus a cabin wearing fetching tan leather-based upholstery.
Given the Supra’s gestation alongside the still-automatic-only BMW Z4 roadster, Toyota needed to get inventive in packaging the handbook setup. Slip contained in the comfortable cabin and also you may discover that the infotainment controller wheel has moved to the far proper of the middle console, making room for a shift lever located inside straightforward attain but precariously near the sprint’s heart stack. Get too aggressive upshifting into third gear and you may rap your knuckles on the local weather controls. Equally, your elbow may knock into something protruding of the middle armrest’s cupholders. Actual property can also be at a premium within the driver’s footwell, with little room to spare between the carefully spaced pedals. But it surely all works to deliver larger precision and delight to an already thrilling sports activities automobile.
Guide-equipped automobiles get a shorter final-drive ratio—3.46:1 versus the eight-speed auto’s 3.15:1—which along with the lengthy, linear journey of the clutch pedal makes setting off straightforward. The weighting of the left pedal helps with metering its takeup but is gentle sufficient to not induce leg cramps. Automated rev matching is on by default, and the function labored properly on our laps across the twisty Utah Motorsports Campus. It may be deactivated when configuring the Particular person mode. And you may need to flip it off, as a result of the position of the pedals is right for easy heel-and-toe downshifts, irrespective of your driving fashion.
The motion of the shifter, with its small-diameter shift ball and slim gates, is equally exact. Gears have interaction with satisfying resistance, like greased ball joint popping into socket. Most necessary, although, is the larger integration all of this brings to the Supra’s driving expertise—timing shifts, managing wheelspin, and higher manipulating the automobile’s stability. Pretty much as good because the automobile’s ZF-sourced computerized is, shifting your personal gears will all the time be extra enjoyable. Rip via the ratios and also you’re extra conscious of each the turbo six’s surge of low-end torque (368 lb-ft at 1800 rpm) and the robust pull to its 7000-rpm redline. Coordinate an ideal 3-2 downshift whereas the automobile is squirming below arduous braking and the grins merely come extra simply.
To help the transition, Toyota has retuned the handbook automobile’s traction-control system and tweaked the soundness management on all 3.0 fashions to rein within the Supra’s tendency to rotate when the motive force abruptly lifts off the accelerator in corners. A brand new Hairpin+ perform relaxes the usual electronically managed limited-slip differential in ultratight bends. Six-cylinder variations additionally obtain updates to their electrically assisted steering and revised adaptive dampers aimed toward enhancing experience consolation and physique management. We’ll want extra seat time to weigh in on how impactful these adjustments are, however they do not make the Supra any much less entertaining to grasp.
As for the transmission itself, Toyota optimized an current ZF six-speed unit for the Supra by eradicating some sound-deadening components and becoming a bigger, bolstered clutch meeting. Weight financial savings versus the automated are a claimed 22 kilos, with the handbook automobile weighing a quoted 3389 kilos. However the mechanics of DIY shifting will nearly definitely add a couple of tenths of a second to the automated model’s 3.8-second 60-mph time. Likewise, the handbook’s gas financial system will undoubtedly path the autobox’s determine. However after lastly experiencing the most recent Supra because the sports-car gods supposed, we would not have ours some other approach.
