Careful with the clutch: ‘Toyota manual gearbox EV will be very ‘real’

It is actually doubly crazy: there is a large car manufacturer that wants an EV with a manual gearbox, and that car manufacturer is Toyota. Toyota, the brand that, thanks to hybrid technology and a large presence in Asia and America, has long emphasized (stepless) automatic transmissions. What works for an economical means of transport, however, does not work automatically (!) for a car that must above all offer pleasure. That would be reason for Toyota to develop an EV with a manual gearbox, a privilege that has passed the hybrids of the brand so far.

The manual EV will most likely be born as Lexus, at least initially. The idea first came out last year and is now confirmed in a document in which Toyota as a group explains its technological future plans. Besides important things like solid-state batteries, that also includes some fun. We therefore find the manual EV in the ‘Intelligence Technologies’ category. Toyota explains to The Wall Street Journal, quoted by Jalopnik, how that should work. The manual gearbox is actually fake and thus simulates the behavior of a real manual gearbox. However, according to current plans, this goes a long way. For example, engine noise is involved and the car in its current concept form really stalls if the driver releases the clutch too rudely. The latter is reportedly still under discussion, because failure is not really safe and is therefore better avoided.

More driving pleasure

Toyota and Lexus not only want to make electric driving more fun by adding a ‘manual gearbox’ to one or more models, but also through other functions. For example, there is the idea of ​​making the driving feel of cars largely variable through other software. A single EV must therefore be able to be converted in an instant from a ‘nostalgic’ driving behavior with combustion engine characteristics, to a very sporty driving behavior or, for example, a more futuristic character.