RIGHT NOW, TOYOTA BOASTS three manual-transmission performance cars. Naming other carmakers who can claim the same is a depressingly short task. Porsche fits a stick to the Boxster, Cayman and 911, albeit to a minority of buyers. Ford sells a pair of hot hatchbacks alongside the Mustang muscle car. Then there’s Caterham, if you dare designate its expansive selection of Sevens as different models. But whichever way you slice it, one of the humblest manufacturers finds itself in exclusive company.
It’s all thanks to president Akio Toyoda being an insatiable enthusiast who prioritises the positive aura of a bunch of proper driver’s cars over maximum profit, perhaps to the chagrin of
