The Toyota Supra engineer asks if they should give priority to a manual version or a more powerful version

Could Toyota seriously consider offering the new Supra with a six-speed manual transmission?

The new 2020 Supra is sold exclusively with an eight-speed transmission, but at a recent press event, Autoindustriya Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer of Toyota, explained that it was possible to add a shifter to the Supra, while asking if the BMW S58 bi-turbo engine could end up in the sports car.

Read also: Toyota thinks of a supra manual, but does not seem sold at the idea

"If you had to choose between the twin-turbo S58 or the introduction of the manual transmission, which would have the highest priority?" Asked Tada-san in response. "What you are going through today is the first iteration of the new Supra. From then on – as with all other sports cars – we will have a new iteration with new upgrades. For the 86, for example, there have been some changes and upgrades every year, up to the GRMN model.

"In terms of upgrades, there is an order in which we can introduce things. The only question is, in what order should we go? "

Tada-san's answer is interesting to say the least. The chief engineer responsible for the 86 and Supra revival previously stated that a manual transmission was not on the agenda, but this latest statement seems to indicate that 39 he thinks at least about the possibility of a textbook. It also seems open to the idea of ​​making a more powerful Supra with the new X3 M and X4 M engine, although the BMW M division president, Markus Flasch, has recently stated that it was " unlikely to provide this engine to Toyota "for the time being".

What would you prefer? A variant Toyota Supra of 500 hp or the introduction of a manual gearbox?