Course correction at Toyota. Racing fans and sporty customers also wanted the GR Supra with a manual switch. They'll get it now. A historically unique event
To err is human. And usually an expensive affair for car manufacturers. Even small changes in the series quickly devour a lot of money. Toyota now affords such a course correction, of all things with a niche model, where the margins are not likely to skyrocket anyway. When Toyota its sports car GR Supra Launched in mid-2019, the Japanese assumed that customers could come to terms with the eight-speed automatic alone. There was no manual transmission.
From automatic to manual
But just from that fan camp there were repeated requests for a manual transmission for the 250 kW/340 hp three-liter six-cylinder. And who one racing Enthusiastic boss like Akio Toyoda at the helm of the richest car company in the world doesn't have to do a lot of convincing. And so a historically unique operation took its course: Probably for the first time in the history of series production, the GR Supra was subsequently added to a sports car manual six-speed gearbox have been implanted. You have to be able to afford that too.
Now such a gear isn't lying around somewhere on the shelf waiting for visitors from Japan. They didn't want that from the cooperation partner BMW, an off-the-shelf solution came from the troupe Gazoo Racing out of the question. They were looking for a new six-speed manual transmission and a new clutch, which they wanted to match specifically to the performance and torque characteristics of the three-liter.
More adjustments to the Toyota GR Supra
Toyota finally found what they were looking for at ZF in Friedrichshafen. The existing gearbox housing of the "found piece" was modified, as were the drive shaft and the gear set. To save even more weight, the technicians removed parts of the acoustic package and developed a new clutch with a larger diameter and a reinforced diaphragm spring. On top of that. A special control system called iMT ensures that torque is optimized at the moment of clutch engagement and disengagement during upshifts. In addition, the GR department shortened the final drive ratio from 3,15 on the automatic to 3,46 on the manual.
From other technical changes such as the newly tuned chassis with stiffer rubber in the bushings of the stabilizers, new shock absorbers or the newly adapted electric power steering, all Supra versions benefit. This also includes the new, now wider center console, which bears parts of the BMW Z4 on the surface and guarantees sufficient freedom of movement for the 200 gram gear knob.
What makes up the gearbox
Everything for sporty companions driving experience to be made even more immediate. During the first test drives on a closed-off race track, the GR Supra also shows that Toyota understands what fast business means. The gearbox is nicely graded, shifts crisply and precisely. Whereby the six-cylinder falls into a small torque gap between second and third gear. Here the spread was chosen to be somewhat large. Otherwise, the Japanese athlete does not take bends quite as precisely and wide awake as a XNUMX or Cayman, but the new tuning noticeably reduces the slight swaying that used to happen.
Further fine-tuning increases the fun factor. Toyota has the for accelerating out of the curve traction control retuned and thus increases the ratio of agility to stability. The new Hairpin+ feature also allows the rear tire to "spin" a little more in tight corners or on slippery surfaces, initiating a bold, controlled hip swing.
Toyota has not yet announced prices for its handcrafted edition, which will be available in three new colors (grey, blue and white). One is probably considering whether this special driving experience should not be paid more expensively. After all, the money has to come back somehow...
Toyota GR Supra Handset Specifications:
Two-door sports coupe with rear-wheel drive; Length: 4,38 meters, width: 1,85 meters, height: 1,30 meters, wheelbase: 2,47 meters, trunk volume: 290 liters
Six-cylinder in-line engine, 250 kW/340 hp, maximum torque: 500 Nm at 1.600 - 4.500 rpm, six-speed manual transmission, 0-100 km/h: 4,6 s, Vmax: 250 km/h (electronically limited), Standard consumption: 8,8 liters/100 km, CO2 emissions: 198 g/km, emission standard: Euro 6
Toyota GR Supra hand switch – brief characteristics:
Why: Because for fans, a sports car without a manual gearbox is not a sports car.
Why not: because it is easier to live with the automatic.
What else: Porsche Cayman, Audi TT RS, Jaguar F-Type
When does he come: now