The Toyota Supra's Manual Transmission Is Sourced From BMW

If you've paid any attention to the Toyota Supra for the past four years, you'll know it's essentially a BMW underneath. Assembled by Magna Steyr alongside the Z4 convertible in Austria, it uses BMW engines and sports a BMW interior. It's no surprise to hear, then, that the newly available manual transmission for the Supra is also a BMW unit.

Toyota told The Drive it worked with BMW and gearbox supplier ZF to come up with a transmission specifically for the Supra.

"The parts used in the gearbox come from a combination of ZF manufactured manual transmissions, but the parts combination is exclusive to GR Supra," a Toyota spokesperson told The Drive. "Toyota partnered with ZF and BMW on the design/layout of shift lever/pedal, decision of final gear ratio, tuning of iMT [Toyota's rev-matching] function, and shift feel."

While the clutch pedal looks to have been lifted straight out of a BMW, the lever itself is brand-new, without any resemblance to any BMW shifter on sale today. Toyota says the shifter was uniquely positioned to ensure effortless shifts and to avoid any contact with the dashboard. Those all caught up on manual Supra news will know that the final gear ratio has been raised from 3.15 to 3.46 to deter sluggish starts and low in-gear acceleration feel.

The Supra's gearbox carries its own unique part number in BMW's catalog, according to The Drive: GS6L50TZ. That designation, as the publication points out, is pretty similar to the number found on the six-speed currently used in the four-cylinder Z4 sold overseas: GS6L40LZ. That's not entirely surprising considering both gearboxes have to fit into the same transmission tunnel. Though it hasn't been confirmed, it's likely Toyota took this transmission and modified it for use in the Supra.

Unlike the Z4, however, the six-speed will only be available for six-cylinder Supra models. With deliveries set to begin later this year, it's only a matter of time before we get to test one out ourselves.

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