Top Secret has always been known for building some outrageous cars, especially their JZA80 Supras. Their most well known Supra is probably their 3S-GTE powered GT300 Supra in which Kazuhiko Nagata got arrested in the UK (more on that later). But in 2007, ‘Smokey’ as he is affectionately known for obvious reasons, came up with something rather special. The car had been in development right after the 2006 Tokyo Auto Salon and the plan was to unveil it at the 2007 edition. The idea was to install the 1GZ-FE 5.0 liter V12 from the Toyota Century into the Supra.

The first hurdle was the size of the engine, luckily it was the same length as the 2JZ-GTE but ‘Smokey’ wanted to turbocharge the engine so he also needed space for the twin HKS GT2540 turbo’s. Another big problem was the cooling, but as you will see further down this story, ‘Smokey’ found a way to make everything fit.

Let’s start at the exterior, because Smokey left no stone unturned in that department either. Top Secret desgined a complete new widebody kit from scratch and called it the G-Force kit. In the rear we can see that it has grown a lot, a full 55mm to be exact. The large carbon spoiler only adds to the visual appeal.

The wheels are gold Rays GTF ones in 19″, tires come in sizes 245/35 in the front and 275/40 in the rear. I don’t see the GTF wheels on a lot of vehicles these days, are they outdated or…?

The biggest change on the exterior has to be the front. A completely redesigned front end including headlights had all the magazine and websites talking back in 2007. The front has been widened 33mm to house the larger wheels. The carbon hood is held in place via some slick hood fasteners.

The first time I saw this design I really didn’t think much of it. But the design has really grown on me. ‘Smokey’ is a car builder that thinks outside the box and I really like that approach.

The heart of the car and the biggest accomplishment, a engine transplant isn’t a easy feet especially when we are talking about a V12 transplant. Like I said before the engine comes out of the Toyota Century and is the only V12 Toyota ever made, it’s a 5.0 liter 48v engine that is turbocharged using two HKS turbo’s. the polished throttle bodies are 80mm in diameter. The engine has seen extensive work because everything has been up rated including the pistons, crankshaft, you name it.

I have always wondered as to what kind of engineering went into the throttle connection to the gas pedal. Because in the old situation you would have one connection but now you need two. By the looks of it they have lengthened the cable and just connected it to the two throttle bodies.

The power has been rated to 600bhp at 5500rpm, but their were also rumors saying it had 1000bhp. I have yet to see a definitive print of it’s actual power output.

Before I forget, the engine is mated to a Getrag six speed manual gearbox

Because the engine is a lot bigger than the 2JZ ‘Smokey’ had to relocate the radiators to the back of the car. In this picture you see the fans that feed extra air to the radiators and let the air flow through the central vent. All the plumbing has been rerouted underneath the car to give it a clean look. Most other cars that use the same setup reroute the plumbing through the interior.

The bulge in the top right corner of this photo house the ducting that gets its air from the air vent on the side of the car. You can see the duct in the last picture of this post, it has replaced the original side window on both sides of the car. It feeds the air to the radiator.

At first ‘Smokey’ didn’t had a plan for the car other than to show what top Secret was capable during TAS 2007. But in the beginning of 2008 they wanted to test the real capabilities of this car. And which place could be better than the proving grounds of Nardo in Italy. After some small tweaks and a new livery they tried to beat the 400km/h barrier. In April of 2008 they managed a respectable 358km/h. I’m sure they will be back to try it again.

Together with its sister car, the white streetgoing version with a standard 2JZ in front of the Top Secret shop. The car has been build to make an impact on the scene and it has done just that ever since it was released during the Tokyo Auto salon back in 2007.

Thanks to Ben Schaffer at Bulletproof automotive for his insights and some of the pictures

-Jeroen Willemsen

Top Secret