non, les sportives à boîte manuelle ne sont pas mortes !

If the Supra is not a big commercial success with us, it still has a certain number of enthusiasts, the most passionate of whom have been demanding, since its revival in 2019, a version equipped with a mechanical gearbox. Toyota heard them, and now grants their wish with the arrival of this 3.0 GR variant equipped with three pedals and 6 gears to change yourself.

A mechanic for this box 6

A development that turned out to be more complex than we imagine since no manual transmission was available on the market for this engine, BMW having decided to offer only auto boxes on its Z4 with which this Supra shared engine and technical base, or even on its Series 3 equipped with the same 3.0 turbo from the Bavarian manufacturer. Toyota therefore had to do a mechanic with an existing manual base at ZF, adapt the gear ratio by shortening it, and find a clutch capable of withstanding the 500 Nm of torque, which implies a slightly high effort on the left pedal.

Revamped center console

On board, we also had to work a little. Because the central console was not originally designed to receive a manual control, there was a real risk of typing in the air conditioning controls by engaging the odd gears. The location of the lever therefore had to be moved back a little, and its reduced length in order to avoid this interference. As this shortening implies a higher effort, Toyota has used a trick so that it is not prohibitive: weight the lever up to 200 gr against a little more than 50 gr usually. This extra mass creates, once in motion during gear changes, a force of inertia which helps to engage gears without the effort being too high.

Accuracy and relative smoothness for the gearbox control

And it works because this lever is quite pleasant to handle, without too much effort, even if the locks obviously remain quite frank and sensitive. Which, however, fits well with the sporting philosophy of this Supra GR. And then further refinement, Toyota has planned automatic rev synchronization – understand an automatic heel-toe – to make gear changes more fluid, particularly when downshifting. An automatism that can be deactivated for those who wish to do it themselves.

Steering and suspensions also evolved…

At the same time, Toyota took the opportunity to review two weaknesses of its Supra, which we also criticized when it was launched: too much steering assistance and damping controlled a little soft, especially for the rear axle. Everything has therefore been strengthened for this GR with manual gearbox, and these modifications will also be applied to the other Supras from mid-summer, proof that it was really needed.

… but rear axle still too agitated

We were only able to complete a few laps of the circuit at the wheel, which will therefore require us to confirm this first opinion on the road, but the decrease in the level of steering assistance seems to provide a better feeling of the front axle, which really has a nice grip on such an asphalt pool table. On the other hand, if on the depreciation side the rear axle seems a little better held on the rare bumps encountered on this Monteblanco track near Seville, the evolution does not seem sufficient to eradicate all the rebounds of the posterior. Which do not fail to provoke still excessive vertical movements of the rear axle, with the beginnings of loss of adhesion when the virulent 340 hp and 500 Nm of torque tumble, immediately followed by anti-skid interventions to avoid causing a rough oversteer.

A notice to be confirmed on the road

In short, strongly that we have these new Supra on the road during the summer to refine these first impressions. Because fans of very sporty driving will surely appreciate being able to choose themselves in which gear they will come out of turns, especially with this successful box order.