Manual Toyota GR Supra puts man and machine in perfect harmony

Toyota embarked on a high-octane journey four years ago by reintroducing the Supra under its racing-inspired Gazoo Racing (GR) banner.

The GR Supra has since been joined by the racing-ready GR 86, GR Yaris and GR Corolla. The GR treatment in terms of suspension has also been applied to the Land Cruiser 300, Hilux and Corolla Cross. The Hilux is a slight exception, due to it also featuring a 10% power uptick.

To reaffirm the Supra’s rightful position as the godfather of the GR stable, Toyota has made it even hotter. The iconic sports car now comes with more power and a manual gearbox due to customer demand. It was the only offering in the GR performance portfolio that wasn’t available in a three-pedal version.

GR Supra gets more oomph

The straight-six 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine initially offered with 250 kW of power and 450 Nm of torque, now sends 285 kW @ 5 800 to 6 500 rpm and 500 Nm at 1 800 to 5 000 rpm to the rear wheels.

Along with the eight-speed automatic transmission carried over from the 2019 model, the GR Supra is now offered with a six-speed manual gearbox. And the fruition of the self-shifter project is more complex than adding another pedal and swapping out the gear lever that features numbers instead of letters.

It was a case of tuning the transmission specifically for the power and torque characteristics of GR Supra’s mill. It entails a newly-developed clutch, a modification of transmission housing, driveshaft and gear set, and the removal of elements that were not required.

To further accommodate the manual operation, suspension has been retuned, along with optimised traction and braking.

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A knob of note

And the Toyota designers’ job wasn’t restricted to under the hood either. As the centre console design did not allow enough clearance between the manual gearlever and the air conditioner controls in front of it, an ergonomic tweak was required. The end result sees a comfortable 42mm clearance between the shift knob and the aircon controls.

And speaking of the shift knob, the stick in the GR Supra is anything but straight off the shelf. A 200g heavier gear knob for a “more pleasing inertia effect” as part of “the human sensory connection with the car” in the words of Toyota.

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The updated GR Supra is offered in a choice of classic black or racy black and red accent interior.
The manual gearbox and lighter new 19-inch alloy wheels result in a 21.8kg weight saving over the outgoing auto model.

The new wheels and red front brake callipers are exterior features of the updated GR Supra. Two new colours; Sapphire Blue and Iridescent Metallic Grey, are also being offered.

Intense experience

The Citizen Motoring had the opportunity to drive the manual GR Supra around Zwartkops Raceway outside Pretoria recently.

What was a tad ironic was driving involved very few gear changes around the 1.9km layout.
In contrast to your natural instinct of wanting to gear down to second in the tighter corners, the GR instructors’ assurance that the GR Supra will have enough torque to get the job done was reaffirmed at every occasion. As a result only third and fourth gear was required during every lap. But still, this was enough to experience the thrilling but intense involvement between man and machine offered by the manual.

Toyota claims the automatic can dart from 0 to 100km/h in 4.1 seconds, with the manual coming in at 4.4sec. But even though machines can outdo man in the swiftness of gear changes, do-it-yourself is a kind of fun you don’t want to miss out on.

Toyota GR Supra pricing

GR Supra MT – R1 488 400

GR Supra AT – R1 524 400

Pricing includes a five-services/100 000 km service plan and three-year/100 000 km warranty.