Enter this, the second coming of the fifth and most controversial generation of the Toyota Supra, first introduced in 2019 in auto only. Yet today, I’ve filled my left palm with the weighty knob of a short-throw six-speed manual box. Oh joy.
The Supra embodies the spirit of Gazoo Racing and is essentially its first production car. Yes, despite BMW doing quite a bit of its initial development – that’s the controversy I mentioned earlier. Full disclosure, I have skin in this particular game, owning a classic Mk2 Supra complete with pop-up headlights (crucial) but also having driven this new car last year in Spain. But there’s nothing like a test on local soil to properly appreciate a car, its dynamics and live-with-ability. Also, I much prefer shifting cogs with my left hand. But let’s discuss how we got here.
Toyota Supra customers insisted that a manual transmission was a must, indeed – it would if nothing else, serve as another unique selling point to set itself apart from its Z4 sibling. That meant a new tailor-made intelligent six-speed manual that will rev match (blip) on up- and downshifts, paired with a
also new clutch to meet the demands of the inline six, turbo’d 3.0 litre engine. It delivers 285kW (up from 250kw) and 500Nm – endowing the new manual model with a 0-100kph time of 4.4sec. And that’s impressive when you don’t compare it to the auto which accomplishes the same feat in just 4.1sec. But why should the computer have all the fun, am I right?
The new car comes with bigger wheels, more paint colours than before and even gets a 2023 update with a wireless phone charger and this is all obviously great. But after several laps around Zwartkops, I can also confirm that it is incredibly quick, and feels even more powerful than the numbers suggest. Gear changes are snappy, resounding and a bloody pleasure to pull of, whilst the helm is granular with its feedback, positively flavourful and fills the forearms with delicious tension. It’s the ‘think it into reality’ sort of pointiness, partially helped with a torquey acceleration that allows you to see more gaps than Ayrton Senna. The result is a highly addictive track machine that feels about as comfortable on the road too. Still trying to resolve buying a slower manual model over an automated counterpart? I offer two reasons to consider it. One, it’s arguably more fun. And two, at R1,488,400 it is R36,000 cheaper too. Bloody bargain, mate (tongue in cheek).
2023 GR Supra Pricing
Manual R1,488,400
Auto R1,524,400
