They STILL Don't Get It: New Supra May Only Come With 335 HP And An Automatic Transmission

Many performance cars -- those are cars aimed at delivering high performance -- are available *only* with an automatic transmission. This includes every Lamborghini, Ferrari, and McLaren in commercial production. It includes Porsche's Turbo and Turbo S supercars!

Note that performance-oriented automatic transmissions are usually different from conventional autos found in your family sedan. They include innovations like a dual-clutch system that shifts ultra-quick and delivers negligible slip (i.e., maximum transfer of the engine's power to the wheels).

As much as I love a stick, my dream car is a well-equipped Porsche 911 with a PDK (dual-clutch automatic) transmission.

^^^
Note: If you love a stick... you're NOT wrong for loving it :-)

Companies build what the majority of people buy, not what niche markets want. That's not a new concept.

It will likely have paddles and shift in milliseconds without needing to have one hand off the wheel to throw a lever. Old farts may not like the fact that automatics are faster shifting when you want to "play manual" and 100% docile when you're on the 405. Times have changed. Yes, I love manuals, but why get bent out of shape that it doesn't have a stick? Just go to a bath house and you'll find all the stick you need.

Hello Toyota Supra, welcome to 2008. That's the year the Nissan 370Z came out with 332 hp under the hood. BTW, it's rumored that the next Z car in top trim will have a hybrid engine with up to 450 hp.

And if that is what Nissan thinks will revitalize the Z, then they are painfully mistaken.

Let's be real, Toyota and Lexus are some of the biggest producers of hybrid variants, and BMW is all-in now as well, they have to be holding out on a performance-hybrid version to top the petrol motor variants...

Although I dive a Hybrid for work = it is not a performance car - and the new Malibu is so much better than the old Fusion - I still do not see the added complexity of a Hybrid being desirable for a perfomance vehicle. A nice - worked - Chevy Big Block would be a far better alternative.

Eventually we will need magnifying glasses to find the engine under the hoods of some cars - they are getting so small that they hide behind the Turbos - but the electronics continue to be a problem - and software problems are still the major complaint of today's consumer. Add in a myriad of wiring to all of the new "features" - and we now already know what the next big problem will be with cars - TOO much OUTSIDE of the car control will reduce the driving experience. Get your car now - while you still have the ability to control speed with your accelerator - and not by "signal" from a speed limit sign!

I wish the concept looked a bit more like the last Supra, or at least attractive.
This may end up like the NSX, a car with no connection to the past but its name.
If the Mustang GT has a 10 speed auto and drag mode for a sub 4 sec 0-60 time, nobody should be complaining about the lack of a manual. Ask Porsche or the folks in product at Corvette what the take rate is on manuals. Likely single digits.

1 - It really depends on how light the car is for the 335 HP. Lotus has done some good performance with small engines and lightweight cars.
2 - This is a SUPRA - and a Toyota - the base engine may be 335HP - the base engine for a Ford Mustang is a 300HP 6 cylinder - and a 275 HP base 4 cylinder for the Camaro. What will the bigger engines cost?
3 - THis is still a Toyota - just how fast do you want Grandma to go? ANd why do you want her to have a manual transmission - when she no longer has the reflexes to use it?

Toyota should just cut a deal with Ford (ala Fiat with Mazda for the Miata) and license the Mustang platform and do some badge engineering - the new Supra will basically be a Mustang also-ran.

Why not save money and call a spade a spade not and just base it on the Mustang?

Given how lucrative the muscle car segment is for Ford, Chevy, and Dodge, it would make absolute sense for Nissan, Toyota, and Genesis to target it.

Imagine a 240Z (turbo 4 cylinder), 370Z (V6 with comfort amenities), and 450Z (V8). Forget hybrid anything.

Similarly, imagine a Celica (turbo 4 cylinder), Supra (V6 with comfort amenities), and Supra R (V8). Again, forget hybrid anything.

The Japanese automakers--especially--have an inferiority complex despite their engineering prowess.

They want to be "taken seriously" so they produce overcompensatory rides like the GTR and the NSX.

The reviews come in that the cars are well-engineered, but "...the 911...". Very quickly they learn that that they didn't succeed.

The Supra has overcompensatory written all over it. It will be overpriced because it's a badge engineered BMW and it will get pummeled for performance.

Ugly and way low in power is definitely what Toyota appears to believe is the key to a successful new car launch. Good luck, Toyota!

This is relatively old news: Newer performance cars have so much performance that fear of liability suits and the costs with the limited market for manuals preclude them. The excesses of power require electronic nannies that further preclude manuals. Gonna be tough to find high horsepower and a stick. If y'all want power with stick, you're pretty much going to have to be happy with approx. 300. (Meanwhile, track down Dan Neil's review of the current Miata.)

Why is everyone freaking out about this? The B58 is one of the best 6 cylinder motors out there, and it is significantly underrated....many dyno tests show it putting down 330-340 hp at the wheels. There could be a very well be a higher level of tune in the Z4/Supra than the 3 series. If the Supra not excessively heavy then this will be more than enough motor for the car.
While most enthusiasts want a Manual the truth of the matter is that that the take rate is so low in all cars including M cars and Porsche vehicles. The lack of a manual will barely hurt sales.

335 hp, even 350 hp seems pretty low for a car with a rumored price tag of $50k. I hope that carbon fiber chassis gets the weight low enough to get this car to a sub 4.3 sec 0-60.

BTW, I'm not surprised if there is no manual option. Manufacturers don't want the public to have manuals, especially if the target market is not angrily demanding one.