Toyota Supra coming with more power but no manual gearbox
With recent online reports and speculation suggesting that a more powerful version of the Toyota Supra could be produced, the Chief Engineer behind the revived sports coupe has confirmed that such a model will indeed materialise.
Amidst claims and online videos of Supra’s being dyno tested and reputedly producing more than the rated 250kW/500Nm, Tetsuya Tada has indicated that more power will be extracted from the BMW sourced 3.0-litre straight-six B58 engine, despite not confirming the exact figure.
“With a sports car, the promise is to offer more performance with each additional version. We have many ideas,” Tada told Autoblog, who alleged that an additional 50 horsepower or 37 kW could be added at the first facelift in 2021.
Despite the reported uptake, Tada has however revealed that the Supra won’t be offered with a manual gearbox, following conflicting reports dating from last year that a three-pedal layout will be available in right-hand-drive markets.
“We have developed (a manual gearbox), yes, there is hardware ready. This is not yet finally decided [introduction of a manual transmission], and depending on feedback from the market, we will decide if we should introduce a manual transmission,” Supra Assistant Chief Engineer Masayuki Kai told Australia’s caradvice.com.au last year.
In his Autoblog interview though, Tada stated that, “Customers who want a manual should choose the Toyota GT86”.
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