Verdict
– Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
As the internet loves to point out, the Toyota Supra has BMW bones and a Bavarian-built six-cylinder engine, and for a while, you could only get it with an eight-speed automatic transmission. At least the 2023 model year fixed what the internet deemed to be one of the Supra’s biggest flaws: It finally has a six-speed manual.
The standard six-cylinder Supra is already a pretty fantastic sports car in my mind. Its turbocharged 3.0-liter engine gives it a whopping 382 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque, which pushes it to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds with the auto and 4.2 seconds with the manual. Competitors like the Nissan Z and base Porsche Cayman aren’t as quick by comparison.
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But while the eight-speed is just an okay gearbox, the six-speed manual makes the Supra more enjoyable to drive hard. And besides, what’s three-tenths of a second between friends?
The manual in question is a ZF six-speed borrowed from the European BMW Z4. It’s a pretty unremarkable gearbox (as I noted in my initial first drive review); it has a narrow catch point and a spring-loaded clutch with long, notchy throws. By comparison, the Porsche 718 Cayman and Nissan Z both have snappier manuals.
But the six-speed does have a shorter final drive ratio of 3.15 compared to 3.46 in the auto, plus standard rev-matching. And pairing the do-it-yourself gearbox with the Supra’s punchy six-cylinder makes for a fun sports car no matter which way you slice it.
Accelerating off the line and ripping it into second and third gear is a hell of a good time. Downshifting with the standard rev-matching feature makes it easy to drop into a lower gear and lay hard into the accelerator for quick passes. And in general, the Supra’s balanced suspension and excellent steering help maintain its status as a pretty stellar sports car.
The car tested here is a Supra 3.0 Premium with the six-speed, which had a starting MSRP of $53,595 with destination at launch. After options, this tester comes in at an estimated $56,660.
But if you want a 2023 Supra with a manual these days (as it currently sits on the Toyota consumer site), the base 3.0 model is the only option, starting at $54,695 before the mandatory Safety And Technology package ($2,960). The 2023 Premium model is no longer available with the manual. The 2024 model, though, is available with an eight-speed automatic or a six-speed across trim lines, with the base 2.0 model being the only outlier.
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