Thank you for a very well informed post!

 

Thank you for the comprehensive post. I'll be really disappointed if the A90 doesn't offer an MT. I get that the business case is not strong for MT, but even if they have historical issues with Getrag, surely they can develop one with any of the Japanese suppliers like Aisin? I've never been a big fan of Getrag anyway - it seems Toyota could solve problems by going with a better/more reliable Japanese manufacturer.

 

Welcome, all. My clearly marked speculation section of my post aside, I'm just passing on what I've collected so far. I'm waiting to read about final specs as much as anyone who has been following this car's development.

I did a little more reading on the SupraMKV website and it seems I really am just being hopeful if I think Toyota mending their relationship with Getrag would happen. A recent insider post suggested that, still, due to the burned relationship between them and Toyota directly resulting from the how aspects of the A80's 6-speed manual transmission were handled over the long term... a new manual gearbox won't come from them even if Getrag is now owned by another company (Magna? I'm not sure offhand).

However another recent post from the Japanese rumor mill suggests that apparently there may be development on a manual version, finally, "due to high demand". No one in the threads has confirmed that but I really, really hope it's true. I agree that Aisin could make a 6-speed manual as could ZF... or even Tremec if Toyota would work with them. But more likely it would be based off a 6-speed gearbox that BMW already uses in the M340i, M2, M2 Competition or M3/M4.

Look here but there are many threads to read on this forum (in addition to the many Tetsuya Tada interviews published by many major auto news sites):

https://www.supramkv.com/threads/202...to.370/page-50
https://www.supramkv.com/threads/pet...on.778/page-16
https://www.supramkv.com/threads/let...ite-iron.1340/

 

 

 

Last Supra could be had with the Getrag 6sp manual on the turbo models. Non turbo models could also be had with a different 5sp manual too, the option was available.

 

 

All Supra's could be had with a manual transmission since 1979.

 

^^ Yep. A manual has historically been available on all Supra models from non-turbos to turbos in all markets.

I agree completely about the GTR R35. It's similar in philosophy to the earlier models but very much a different competing class of car from the Skyline R32, R33 and R34's... all of which are known to be quite fun with their stock manual transmissions. The R35 has a different mission than the older models and given that... I can also see why they went DCT-only.

But that's not the target the Supra MKV was designed to chase. It was designed to be modified and raced but also to be a much more involving driver experience than the R35. Remember that Nissan is the company that decided to make the R35 feel how it does in stark contrast to its R34 predecessor. This is the same company that killed the Silvia S16 program when it was mid-way through the R&D phase. The same company that killed the IDX RWD 2+2 manual coupe project after overwhelmingly positive response from the public. The same company that earlier this year killed further development on the next the Z-car (the current one will continue through its model cycle until they decide to stop selling it). They are the same company that thinks that people who don't have $100k++ to spend on a DCT-only R35 would be much happier with a Murano Cross-Cabriolet, Juke Nismo or Kicks.

I too would be very disappointed if the Supra MKV did not come with a manual at all and especially in the inline-six turbo versions. In an era where manuals are increasingly not being offered and in which there is so much emphasis on phasing out the driver through incrementally autonomous vehicle systems, I would also be forced to forego the Supra and look into an M2, Mustang, Camaro, Cayman, etc. And that would be a shame because otherwise this is looking to be a great car in every other aspect.

Toyota sees the take rates of current generation manual FR-S/BRZ/86's as being in line with what that car was designed to cater to: just driving fun, engagement and rear-drive balance.... not power and speed. How they are not connecting that people who love those cars ALSO love high powered manual cars doesn't make much sense to me.

Also, this appears to be the last truly high performance sports car that Toyota will make that isn't electrified in such a way that a manual transmission might not be possible (although since Honda proved that a manual could be offered on the hybrid "performance-oriented" CR-Z I don't see how it would be totally impossible to offer manuals until a vehicle has no gasoline engine driving the wheels at all)... so given that... there really is a responsibility to the legend of this car to offer a three pedal manual on both Supra MKV engines.

That is, unless Toyota actually intends a stock 335-400hp DCT Supra to compete with a stock 600+hp DCT AWD R35 GTR. And they already said they haven't built the MKV to compete with the R35.

I really hope that Akio Toyoda and upper Toyota management got the message that given what this car represents and given the time in history in which it is being built... it would be foolish not to offer a high performance manual MKV. The buyers of this sportscar DO NOT care about integration with the Toyota Safety Sense standard and will not care if the cost of making that work with a manual in a low volume car is what ultimately prevented the Supra I6 turbo from having one.

I still think that Tetsuya Tada and his development team already knew this from the beginning but that the ultimate decisions are not always up to them. But maybe somehow the message got through to Toyota brass to reconsider the initial decision. My fingers are crossed.

However if you read the MKV forum thread on the DCT vs Manual debate, if indeed development on a manual version began late in the development phase it might possibly not be available right at the first model year launch date. I don't want to speculate on how that would work out though-- I just know that a lot of work goes into developing such an option and certifying it for sale. The U.S. crash standards are so draconian that an entire Supra (or two?) with a manual gearbox would have to be crash tested all over again to gain regulatory approval.

 

Not 1996 in California; only Auto due to emission regulation FUBAR.

 

Incorrect, 1997 was the last MY for the 6-speed in Cali. In 1998, it was no longer available.

 

 

i just never ever saw a last gen supra with stick.

 

Definitely was available as I traded my 93' in for a 97'. I still have the original brochure as well!