The stick-shifted Supra gives you full reign over its straight-six powertrain.
- Toyota adds a manual transmission to its GR Supra lineup and makes it available on all 3.0-liter, I6-powered models.
- The manual-transmission GR Supra starts at $53,595 in base form but offers the limited edition A91MT for $59,440.
- The six-speed manual transmission GR Supra also sees revised final drive gearing compared to the automatic.
Toyota put its Supra on the back burner before the new millennium. The A80 Supra didn’t set the sales charts ablaze, but it was popular among racing fans and video game enthusiasts alike. More importantly, it became cemented as a cultural icon after its starring role in the cinematic masterpiece The Fast and the Furious.
Well, after a two-decade lull, and what felt like one of the longest launches in recent automotive history, Toyota revived the Supra name under its GR banner. While many were happy to have Toyota’s performance star back in the lineup, it lacked an essential piece for many enthusiasts: a manual transmission. For 2023, Toyota remedies this with a clutch pedal and a six-speed manual transmission.
There is one major catch. The stick-shifted Supra will be available exclusively with the 3.0-liter straight-six engine that makes 382 hp and 368 lb-ft of torque—same as the eight-speed automatic-equipped GR Supra. While that power travels exclusively to the rear wheels, the automatic-equipped and manual-equipped cars offer different final drive gearing. The manual-equipped cars sport a shorter 3.460:1 ratio than the automatic’s 3.154:1 gear set. Even with the manual’s shorter final gearing, Toyota says the automatic sprints to 60 mph 0.3 seconds quicker than the manual GR Supra’s 4.2-second time.
Now, the six-speed manual transmission comes with some major changes over its automatic stablemate. The most obvious is the interior: The manual gear selector sits comfortably in the middle of the center console, and the shifter offers positive engagement without being overly notchy. The throws are on the shorter side, but there’s no doubt the aftermarket will come up with a solution to shorten and firm up what Toyota has delivered with its stick Supra.
In concert with the manual gear selector, the GR Supra’s clutch pedal has a long travel with a relatively wide friction zone, which gives you a good feel for what’s going on inside the bell housing. Overall, the clutch hits the sweet spot with enough weight and resistance to remind your leg it has a job to do, but it’s light enough to not be bothersome in city traffic.
The looming question remains: Is it fun? Well, of course. This is not a track rat special or a race car for the road. The manual transmission makes this an enthusiast special, and minor updates to the GR Supra put more emphasis on fun rather than destroying a Nurburgring record. Additional software like Hairpin plus, which tells the limited-slip differential to add some extra slip in certain situations, and revised power steering and stability control all work together to give the driver a more engaging experience.
With manual rowing, the GR Supra is right at home on the track. Sequestered to half of Utah Motorsport’s Campus, the coupe shines with loads of torque and the ease of automatic rev-matching. The relatively short track kept the GR Supra from stretching its legs in a straight but gave an honest showing of the stick-shifted Supra’s capabilities. Under the duress of chasing a reasonable lap, the Supra’s controls fall easily to muscle memory without too much thinking getting in the way of your driving.
It will be a challenge for Toyota to capture the energy that surrounds the previous-generation Supra, which sold poorly compared to its predecessors. Though, as time goes on, this reborn GR Supra is starting to get its own footing, and this manual transmission will only help give it further reach with enthusiasts and driving fans. Toyota offers the manual on any 3.0-equipped Supra, starting at $53,595. Toyota is also honoring the addition of a manual with a special A91MT edition, which starts at $59,440.
Wesley Wren Wesley Wren has spent his entire life around cars, whether it’s dressing up as his father’s 1954 Ford for Halloween as a child, repairing cars in college or collecting frustrating pieces of history—and most things in between.
Keyword: The Toyota Supra Manual Gives Fans What They Want