Manual Toyota Supra Sets Quarter Mile Record
In recent years it has become commonplace to
say that manual transmissions have become obsolete and can no longer compete
with more technically advanced types of transmissions both in performance
capacity and in cost-efficiency. Even manufacturers of supercars, where the
availability of stick-shifters has previously been a common thing, start following
the automation trend and gradually switch to more sophisticated dual-clutch and
sequential transmissions.
It should be acknowledged that this tendency is backed not only by financial gains for automakers and effectiveness of marketing campaigns promoting further automotive automation, but also by actual results on racing tracks, as more and more automatic cars celebrate victories in different speed competitions. But recently the racing world has become a witness to a surprising speed record. We are talking about a tuned Toyota Supra equipped with a six-speed manual transmission that has set a drag strip record for manual cars.
This amazing Supra model was modified by Rannas
racing. The rear-wheel-drive car features a famous 2JZ engine transmitting
1,600 hp to the rear wheels. But the key feature of this car is a six-speed
manual transmission and its superb clutch (Black Magic Clutch), ensuring
lightning-quick shifts. The Supra ran the quarter-mile in Orlando, Florida, where
it crossed the finish line at 7.17 seconds with a trap speed of 206 mph.
The Youtube description claims the car has been all over the US striving to make this record happen, so Grannas racing must have tried a lot a of clutch options to save precious milliseconds on the track. But much of the credit should also go to Toyota's legendary 2JZ engine. Using some engineering tricks, it seems like the manual transmission technology still has something to offer on the race track and maybe it is too early to consign manuals to the footnotes of history.
