It seems that the Toyota Supra might one day get a manual option after all, according to a new report.
When the Toyota Supra was revealed earlier this year, it came with an 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, and that’s it. No manual was announced, much to the combined outrage of automotive enthusiasts the world over.
A sports car without a manual transmission? And a Supra on top of that? Sacrilege!
But now we’re hearing new reports that say the Supra could have a manual transmission after all. According to a newly released statement from BMW on the entry-level Z4 sDrive 20i, the German carmaker said that their version of the car will come with a 6-speed manual as standard.
Since the Toyota Supra and the Z4 are mechanically the same, that means there certainly exists a 6-speed manual transmission that would swap gears in the Supra.
Motor Trend reached out to Toyota to ask point blank if the Supra would eventually get a manual transmission. They received a somewhat cryptic response, even for Toyota:
"We may have heard a time or two (or more) that there's a desire for a manual transmission in the Supra. However, we're confident in the performance of the current setup... We feel it's the optimal combination for the U.S. market at this time and we're anxious for customers to drive the new Supra and experience it for themselves. We'll be sure to check back into the conversation at that time and see what people have to say."
While Toyota seems to be saying “no” to a manual Supra with a wink and a nod, we should note that even though enthusiasts demand a manual transmission, very few people still actually buy a sports car in manual. According to Toyota’s own numbers, just 2% of all sales are for a manual transmission car, and even on the Toyota 86 (Toyota’s entry-level sports car in the US), manual uptake only jumps to a third of buyers.
We suspect that Toyota might be hedging their bets on the manual Supra to see how well it performs in the US. If they see solid sales and perhaps some aftermarket manual swaps, then Toyota will bring over the manual Supra.