Toyota Fans React to 2022 GR Supra Manual Introduction, Whether They Will Make The Switch

What’s the first car that comes to any teenager’s mind when you say, “90’s sportscar?” If you said MK4 Toyota Supra you are correct. This timeless Japanese classic has been known to push insane amounts of power whilst still keeping its integrity as a nice-looking and semi-rare sports car. We waited almost 20 years for a new supra and apparently, we got a disappointment.

When the new MK5 Supra debuted, people didn’t like the fact that it had a BMW engine, didn’t come in a manual, or didn’t have the outdated 2JZ engine the previous Supra had. Blatantly stated, many people didn’t like this deviation from the old Supra.

However, recently Toyota Europe published a press release stating that there will soon be a GR Supra with a manual transmission. There were no specs or numbers published however most of the release was about keeping the GR roots intact and bringing a road-legal race car to your home garage.

After reading this press release, I immediately hit the forums to see what actual Supra owners thought. On a Supra forum called supramkv.com, a poll was shared on whether or not people would switch to the manual or keep the automatic.

Of the three answers that you could choose from, "yes, in a heartbeat", "no, staying with auto," or "debating," almost everyone choose that they would stay with the automatic Supra. A lot of the reasons why they wouldn't want to switch over is simply because they already have too much invested in aftermarket parts on their automatic Supras that they don't want to go through the hassle of taking everything off and putting it back on their new manual Supra.

One commenter named jtsang25 wrote, "I'm knee-deep in parts and ppf to switch over now. Not taking the time to remove all aftermarket stuff and transferring it over or buying everything again." Others said they had been driving manuals forever so switching back to a manual wouldn't want to be their first choice.

Someone else said they wouldn't switch because they had already bought a Subaru WRX STI manual because they couldn't get the GR Supra in a manual. I guess if Toyota was using BMW engines in their Supra, why wait so long to use their manual transmissions? The technology already existed so waiting was pretty pointless.

I think with some time and a few promotional videos showing just how powerful a manual GR Supra would be might change some people's hearts. Until then a lot of Supra owners won't switch over to a manual because of either aftermarket parts, financial restraints, or solely because they don't like BMW manual transmissions.

By the way, TorqueNews Lexus reporter John Goreham wrote an interesting article about whether or not Lexus will follow Toyota's footsteps and offer more manual transmission cars.

By the way, check out our latest article on the MSRP Crisis Toyota seems to be handling.

What do you think? Would you buy or switch over to a manual GR Supra? Let us know in the comments section below.

Harutiun Hareyan is reporting Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and vast experience test-riding new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insights. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun for daily Toyota news.