Toyota Supra: Over Half of the Units Sold in 2024 Had a Manual Transmission

Is the manual transmission still relevant? This is a question most manufacturers are asking, and rightly so. In theory, automatic transmissions are more efficient on many levels. They make cars more fuel-efficient and improve performance since gear changes are faster. Isn’t that what all car enthusiasts want?

In reality, you have to have driven a manual car to understand that the driving pleasure goes far beyond paper performance. Clearly, I’m not the only one who thinks this way, as more than half of the Toyota Supras sold last year were equipped with a manual transmission. The irony is that the Japanese manufacturer initially stated that the car would only be available with an automatic transmission and that a manual option was not in the plans.

A Lesson Learned

It’s hard to say whether Toyota changed its stance because the community demanded it or because the new Nissan Z offers a manual gearbox, but Toyota eventually did an about-face and decided to add a manual transmission to the Supra lineup. Unsurprisingly, 65% of buyers in the United States opted for the manual transmission in 2024.

For 2025, the Toyota Supra is offered exclusively with a 3.0-liter inline-six engine. This engine delivers 382 horsepower, and you can choose between an 8-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual transmission. In case you didn’t know, this engine is borrowed from BMW. While Toyota has faced significant criticism for this decision, it’s worth noting that this partnership is what allowed the legendary Supra to be revived in a more traditional form than if the Japanese manufacturer had developed it independently.

Jean-Sébastien Poudrier