Now Gazoo Racing Joins the Traditional Swing With GR Supra Manual
In a very good week for old school driving. Toyota Gazoo Racing has added to Porsche’s news of a manual 911 Turbo Sport Classic and BMW’s boss suggesting that combustion engines indeed have a big future. This time it’s the Toyota GR Supra that finally gets a manual gearbox. It comes three years after the car that shares its heart with the BMW Z4 was launched.
“We Have Listened to Sports Car Fans”
“We have listened to sports car fans and customers,” Toyota confirmed as it released first details this week. “The Toyota GR Supra will soon be available with a six-speed manual gearbox. “It is engineered to delight drivers who love the control and rewards offered by precisely timed manual shifts”.
The 250 kW 3-litre straight-six will soon be available with new six-speed manual ‘box. It will feature the same Intelligent Manual Transmission set-up as the GR Yaris. IMT mode uses an intelligent control system to prioritise sporty performance. Basically that means that, when upshifting, it will optimise engine torque at the moment of clutch engagement and release. IMT is the default seting but can be turned off in Sport mode.
Gazoo Racing has further engineered the transmission to avoid a sluggish pullaway. The GR Supra manual’s final drive ratio is also shortened from the 3.15 of the automatic car’s to 3.46. To achieve ‘response and gearing appropriate for sports car performance. The new transmission also reduces the car’s overall weight by almost 40 kg. The 2-litre four-cylinder Supra available on overseas markets will not be available with the manual ’box.
Supra Also Tweaked Across the Range
The manual gets centre console reworked to accommodate the new stick shift. It has more space between the shift lever and the air-con unit. Toyota has also refreshed the entire Supra range and retuned suspension with retuned shock absorbers. And more rigid rubbers front and rear anti-roll bar bushes. Pricing and release dates will be confirmed anon.
