Man, after re-reading that interview, I swear I did proofread before publishing, but so many errors (my bad).
To answer few things. From the beginning, 2.0L 4cylinder Supra wasn’t in Tada-san’s mind. He was only focusing only inline 6 RWD Supra. More than half way through the development, 2.0 came along (prob from BMW side). After much debate, Toyota side tested out 2.0L ver and enjoyed it a lot more than they expected. Then Tada-san took it as step latter for current 86 owner, instead of having a huge step going from 2.0 NA 86 to 3.0 Turbo Supra.
Now, everyone will think “Well if that’s the case, they should of brought it in MT.” I hear ya. But keep in mind, 2.0L Supra wasn’t in the development time sheet. Plus MT isn’t in there as well, so they can’t just LEGO things together & call it good.
Another thing I hear is “Why they brought more hp ver yr after the launch? They could of just do that from first yr.” That’s another thing need to keep in mind. Tada-san IS Chief Engineer, but still need to get approval. Within Supra project, he decide, from there, he need to present to the board & Morizou. If they approve, Tada-san can keep going to next phase of the project. B58 engine they were giving, tested, developed, presented & approved by the board was the first gen Supra engine. Almost the end phase, BMW showing off their version. It’s not like they can just swap em in there w higher hp B58 & call it good. They need to be tested, developed, improved, presented & approved before make it into the production.
Biggest question I still hear is “Why didn’t they make MT?” and sadly, I don’t have answer to this. Maybe they have some deal w BMW. Maybe upstairs Toyota said something. Maybe Tada-san didn’t want to kill off 86 sales. Truth of matter is, I don’t know the reason why and prob won’t find out.
...From here, it’s just me rambling, so take it as a grain of salt & nothing official. Later that day, I had a chance to go to PEC in LA w 3 other men. There, we learn what makes Porsche the Porsche. Me & friend were explaining to other person that even now, Porsche makes MT, lighter driver oriented sports car within all the PDK sports cars they make. Even limited amount and might be lil bit expensive than other models. Maybe be lil bit slower 0-60 than PDK, they still make one. Why? Because they know that, there are buyer who’s interested in those kind of niche car, even though Porsche sports car is already a niche car as is. There a buyer who like shifting through the gear, because that’s part of driving. Part of owning sports car that talk to you more. Not about can shifting 0.1 sec. it’s about knowing you’re shifting through the gears... & all sort of gearhead talk. After experiencing through PEC, one of them really rethink how important of having MT & driver oriented car.
There’s also rumor saying, riding Porsche Taycan Turbo I almost shit brick from doing the 1/4 mile... it’s only a rumor lol
