CarBuzz was invited to Daytona Beach, Florida to watch the Daytona 500 and get an exclusive first look at the 2021 Toyota Supra. The updates for 2021 include a power increase for the six-cylinder, a new four-cylinder engine, and a new A91 special edition. But as many of you may have noticed, a manual transmission is not on the list of new additions for 2021.

This omission wasn't lost on us or the journalists in attendance and the subject quickly became a hot topic of discussion during our Q&A session with the Supra's chief engineer, Tetsuya Tada.

"We have tested the car with a manual, but are not planning on doing it [for now]," Tada-San said.

"I'm aware that people want a manual," he explained mentioning that "[Toyota] has tested all variants of the Supra [with a manual]." But looking around the industry at competitors, it is easy to see why Toyota has not pulled the trigger yet. "Porsche's take rate [for the manual transmission] is around 10%," said Tada-San. "One of the main reasons why we did not put a manual in the Supra is that the automatic is unlike anything people have experienced before. I wanted people to experience this new transmission," before deciding that they need a manual.

Tada-San pointed out that "back during the days of the A80 Supra, automatics were not as good" but this new automatic offers "faster lap times and [there is] no area where it loses to a manual." He even reminded everyone that after increasing the boost, many owners blew up their manual transmissions in the last generation Supra. Tada-San added that "we are open to talking to the sales and marketing teams after everyone experiences [the automatic]. [A manual] is not totally out of the question."

Having driven the Supra on many occasions, we tend to lean with Toyota's stance on not offering a manual. The number of real customers for a manual transmission might be far smaller than the number of people who say they want one. And remember, buying one used in a few years doesn't help Toyota make any money. For the small group of people who want a new Supra with a manual transmission, the geniuses over at European Auto Group offer an aftermarket manual swap (with an available warranty) for $12,000.