Toyota says manual version of the A90 Supra is ready

Toyota has described the upcoming new Supra as its “last present” to those who love sports cars as we know it today. Now, reports have emerged hinting at a very nice final gift to purists – Australia’s CarAdvice says that Toyota is likely to launch a manual version of the Supra.

This surprising piece of info was provided by Masayuki Kai, the Supra’s assistant chief engineer. He told the press at the Supra’s first drive event that a manual version has been developed, and the stick shift Supra is being prepared right-hand drive markets. Before this, everyone assumed that the Supra would be auto-only, like its sister car, the BMW Z4.

“This is not yet finally decided (the introduction of a manual option), and depending on feedback from the market, we will decide if we should introduce a manual transmission. We have developed it, yes, there is hardware ready. Right-hand drive? Yes, of course. It needs to be sold in Japan, which is a right-hand drive market,” Kai was quoted as saying.

Now, if it’s green-lighted, a manual Toyota Supra would not just be a rare gem in today’s car market, but a guaranteed future classic as well. The FR sports car will come with two turbocharged engines, a four-pot and a six-cylinder unit, hooked up to an eight-speed conventional automatic transmission. These will be based on BMW units, but as mentioned, the G29 Z4 that was revealed last month is auto-only.

Here’s all you need to know about the fifth-generation Supra, by chief engineer Tetsuya Tada himself.

GALLERY: 2019 Toyota Supra spyshots

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