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A new, hotter Toyota Supra GRMN prototype was spotted testing at the Nürburgring, and it sure sounds like it has a manual transmission. The long-rumored high-performance GRMN variant seems to be coming true, and while there aren’t many details beyond what we can see, it might have the manual gearbox that the Nissan Z Nismo skipped on.
In a video posted by CarSpyMedia on YouTube, a camouflaged Toyota Supra is seen ambling about the Nürburgring and taking a few laps on the Nordschleife. Listening closely to the Supra going full tilt, there are two distinct giveaways that this is a manual Supra: The shifts and the gear ratios.
Folks who have driven a manual Supra will know that it has long gears, and the prototype in the video only ever shifts once, even on long straights. But that one shift is enough to hear the slight spike in revs from hitting the clutch pedal with some enthusiasm, the subsequent drop in revs, and the re-engagement of the clutch. Also, there’s no characteristic ZF eight-speed ignition-cut farting on the upshift. There’s no mistaking it—this Supra is a stick.
Plenty of speculation surrounds the Supra GRMN, primarily around its powertrain. Currently, the Supra has two powertrain options: The 255-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four B48 engine and the 382-hp 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six called the B58. The Supra GRMN is rumored to have the S58 engine from the BMW M3, which makes 473 hp (503 hp in M3 Competition form). Otherwise, the prototype in the video tries to camouflage a new decklid, wing, and front bumper with integrated canards.
The Supra has become the de facto king of track days and amateur time attacks in the U.S. It’s already ultra-fast with some basic mods. But if you took the Supra and gave it 100 extra horsepower, it would be unstoppable. Don’t be scared, Toyota. Give us the GRMN.
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