Petrolheads around the world – rejoice! Toyota made an investment we should celebrate.
To be honest, Toyota’s commitment to fulfilling enthusiast wishes has pleasantly surprised me. Why? Because everyone in the industry knows that this type of behavior is very risky. However, sometimes these risks payoff.
The Toyota GR Yaris has been a huge success, and I am confident that this new version of the Toyota Supra will improve the image and sales of the vehicle. What’s more, here’s why.
A stick-shift
According to Toyota, the GR Supra’s manual transmission was designed and tuned specifically for use with the coupe’s straight-six engine.
The engineering team was able to modify the existing transmission housing, driveshaft, and gear set. By removing unnecessary components such as the acoustic package resulted in even more weight savings.
A newly engineered clutch with a larger diameter and reinforced diaphragm spring is at the heart of the transmission. This new component has the high-performance capability appropriate for use with the GR Supra’s high-torque engine, thanks to a larger friction area and a stronger spring.
Also, transmissions employ an intelligent control system. Upshifting parameters optimize engine torque at clutch engagement and release, while downshifting software has been fine-tuned for consistent performance.
Hairpin+ function
The desire to make the GR Supra fun to drive prompted the addition of a new Hairpin+ feature.
It should give more flexibility when taking tight bends uphill (greater than 5 percent ). It seems a hard cornering while driving a Toyota Supra is a must.
Toyota says that more “free” wheel spin can make such routes more enjoyable to drive. So Toyota has optimized engine torque control to allow a greater difference in the degree of wheel spin on the left and right-side tires.
Less weight, better dynamics
Toyota introduced the Lightweight model to take advantage of the weight savings achieved with the new manual transmission.
Compared to the current 3.0-liter automatic model, the 3.0-liter GR Supra Lightweight benefits from additional weight-saving measures, resulting in a total weight reduction of 38.3 kg.
The Lightweight saves another 16.5 kg by removing the leather upholstery, power adjustment, and lumbar support from the seats and replacing them with a new manual gearbox and 19-inch alloy wheels. This decrease improves the car’s maneuverability.
Toyota expects the Lightweight version to be the most popular GR Supra version. While it will be the most expensive Supra version, better dynamics, and involvement while using a manual gearbox should certainly help get things moving.
