It may sound strange, but I’m almost glad that a lot of Japanese manufacturers have failed miserably when it comes to giving us worthy successors of cars like the Supra. Let me explain…
The more I feature and spotlight cool cars, the more this sentiment runs through my head. It’s the same with so many cars, the S-chassis, the AE86, the Skyline, and of course Toyota’s flagship sports car. There has never really been a proper replacement for the latter, and while we’ll be seeing a new Supra at the end of October at the Tokyo Motor Show, we all know it’s based on a BMW Z4. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a car that will be very welcome, but it’s hardly a successor to the JZA80, is it?
While the Germans never miss a beat when it comes to giving us successor after successor of performance models, the Japanese get confused and lost in their self-inflicted brand disorganization. And when decades pass between models, that’s when the enthusiasts push the envelope. Owners start to feel like their beloved cars will never see a successor that they’d happily trade up to, and that’s when we see great and unique creations surface.
We’ve seen this expressed in so many different ways with so many different chassis, but never have I come across a Supra quite like the car you see here.
The owner has gone completely mad on it, commissioning a local bodyshop in Kuala Lumpur to sculpt a one-off wide body conversion to echo the success the JZA80 had in the GT500 ranks of the JGTC. There are no bolt-on fenders here, or even FRP for that matter – everything you see is handcrafted out of steel, including the custom front and rear arches that meet up with equally wild-looking bumpers.
For the owner, this is nothing short of a dream materializing in the real world. It’s like that ultimate spec list we all have in our heads for how we would like our own cars to be, but here he’s actually gone and done it.
The custom aesthetics are complemented by select carbon fiber additions like the front and rear canards and the treatment along the profile of the car. A large GT wing and Top Secret rear diffuser finish off the aero treatment, before the whole look is pulled together with a custom set of Work Meister S1s in 18×8.5-inch at the front and a mammoth 18×14-inch at the rear.
Swing the doors open and there’s an immediate premium feel to the cabin with Alcantara applied to almost every surface.
The quilting on the center portion of the seats and on the door cards adds a certain elegance, contrasting the carbon trim that dresses the fascia and instrument cluster. The execution is of the highest quality but nothing can prepare you for the engine aspect of the build…
You might expect a show car finish under the hood as well, but the owner has gone a completely different direction here. It’s pure race car, from how the 2JZ’s cam covers have been left unpainted with the massive coil packs sticking out like sore thumbs, to how the entire engine bay is lined in heat reflecting material. The motor is fully built with Ross forged pistons, Molnar Technologies forged connecting rods and Kelford cams to ensure toughness and reliability, while the big Garrett GT42 turbo sits on an Elixir billet exhaust manifold. Yes, billet, as in no chance of cracking – ever!
On the intake side there’s an Elixir dry carbon plenum and a single drive-by-wire throttle body of the same brand. Fuelling is provided by a dozen 1350cc/min injectors fed by a pair of Elixir 500lph pumps.
The car runs a Haltech Elite 2500 ECU with a flex-fuel sensor, meaning it’s more than happy to run either 100RON gasoline or E85. Of course, the latter will yield the most power and the reason there’s a fuel system geared up to support it all. Currently, the setup is producing 650whp on 1.2bar (17.6psi) boost pressure, but there’s potential here for 1000hp, which is where it will end up.
It’s great to get so much love in all the countries we visit!
Oh, and if the fully built 2JZ wasn’t quite enough, there’s always the wet nitrous oxide system to rely on for that little boost of power. This JZA80 is wild in every way!
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
I've always felt that LFA was kind of a MkV Supra, even though Toyota probably will never say that.
The car here - what bugs me with all these GT500-inspired builds is that they never catch the simplicity and beauty of the race cars. These bodykits just never do the job for me - there's just too many things going on, too many unnecessary and inconsistent lines - especially if you look at the rear fenders. I like the quality and attention to details of the build though.
The plate number looks legit, but I am not sure how this car passed as road worthy vehicle through land transportation authority in Malaysia.
Anyway, I have seen this car in Kuala Lumpur in a couple of occasion. In life, the rear of the car looks kinda boxy.
Some Duit Kopi will solve the problem.It's malaysia,after all.
This sort of comment can land u in hot soup brother 桜 璃
it looks too high imo, esp the rear
I don't often take a sincere dislike for the way a car looks but, goddam that is ugly!
The widebody completely does away with the nice smooth lines of the Supra and submits it's own horrible, spikey, silhouette.
Not sure a GT500 comparison is fair to the GT500 in this case...
This has got to be the ugliest Supra I have seen on the internet. Wheels stick out of the car like Mexican fitment, aluminum foil looking sticker on engine bay? , cheap looking alcantara seats, and that ricey halo angel eyes in that headlights??
..... "another one".... ruined japanese classic....
That's what Darth Vader said when he found out about Luke ..."Another Ruined" Jedi
Nice to see some good quality coming out of developing countries. The last pic of the boot/trunk killed it for me as the rest of the car look so neat.
just like seeing a hot chick with a nice ass but with skid marks on the rear
If toyota were to make a great sports car for us and didn't revive the Supra name, would it be dismissed? I don't understand the appeal because usually when a model name is shelved, the successor barely resembles the spirit of the former, and relies on nostalgia for sales. Call me a pessimist, but if a Supra emerges in the near future, it'll be based on a Z4, and my guess is they'll go as crazy with the styling as Honda did with the CTR and slap a Supra badge on the back. Is it a Supra? Do you really want another supra?
I agree with all of what you said. However, I believe the biggest failure a new "Supra" will have is the limitations of it's drive train. The reason the Supra was/is so coveted is that it was so over-engineered. It was built to handle 3-4 times the power it actually made reliably. Any new Supra just isn't going to live up to that kind of heritage.
-Alex
I'm not sure that saying the collaboration between BMW and Toyota won't make a worthy successor is strictly accurate. The Celica Supra was a collaboration between Toyota and Lotus.
This could be a new evolution of the Supra.
Lol I like this car a lot. If you're going to drive around in 650+ hp then you might as well do it with your cheeks in comfort.
Ride height as well as wheel/tire fitment should be more aggressive to fit the profile of the car. Other than that its really torn between show car and race car. I cant really find a way to like or dislike it from that aspect; its almost like it has two completely different personalities!
honestly, u r so right "really torn between show car and race car" ... i'm 42 this year.. i've had this car for more than 16 years..... The widebody kit went in 10 years ago... i'm getting too old for bucket seats and stiff suspensions... but my heart still longs for the immense pull from the car... thus - it is what it is today... 'half of both worlds'.... of all the comments, it seems yours hit spot on..
Billet exhaust manifold? Seem to be cast iron tho....even the turbine housing of the turbo looks to be cast iron with the rusting...
There's no such thing as a 'billet manifold'. They don't even do that in F1. There's no point. It's impossible anyway. It would have to be completely machined from a solid block of steel. How would you cut out the interior walls? It's impossible. Some kind of typo or misinformation.
I really do love Japanese cars ... sometimes I'm not 100% sure why. Germans cars are really Where it's at. $15k for an E46 M3. 350hp out of a NA I-6. $25k for a e92 M3 420hp. These are numbers never seen coming out of Japan.
None the less, Japanese cars still pull at me for some reason.
no doubt the germans do some serious engineering! ( as an italian i think the "red cars" do it even better... ) but keep in mind when it comes to turbo cars, this is just a jdm thing. Already in the eighties they did very good, for its time high hp engines, and they were reliable!
Why? I can answer u why... I have this Supra, an F355 .. a Porsche 997 Turbo .. an E39 M5... nothing beats the reliability and simplicity of a JDM...
Except its just not GT500 its a BASTARD! pffft. ugly too much money ... fat pig supra .. LUL .... make a real road-going GT500 class please.
That's what your grandma said when she first saw you in your mom's arms... yr face just dont look like yr dad's...
Supra:
Im gonna be a GT500 Car
You told your parents you're gonna be someone useful and great right? pffftt... right
Why would it be advantageous to completely cover an engine bay like that in reflective material? It seems like you would reflect heat straight back toward the engine - wouldn't it be better if your inner fenders were a little warm rather than your engine getting hotter?
Typically the reflective material is employed to keep heat away from intake charge or sometimes to protect fragile components/panels or the interior from extreme heat. In this case I'm just confused...
Yes, i am confused as well. Owner seems to have fetish for these kinda stupid stuff
Although, I can see why you might be confused by the arrangement in the engine bay. And, I just have to say that the installer really didn't understand basic thermodynamics. What he should've done is insulated the intake piping, and exhaust piping directly. Then, you just put reflective material next to the exhaust system components, and above and around the engine block and head.
There's absolutely no reason to insulate the shock towers and wheel tubs like the installer did. Just a waste of time and money. So I do understand your confusion.
That's actually the point. You want the engine to run as hot as possible, it has to be kept warm. The radiated heat is actually losing power. The heat you lose through the engine, has to be replenished, so it robs the engine of power (it really just makes it less efficient overall.) If you study basic thermodynamics, engines are reduced to really simple equations, it's basically the difference in the Temperature of the Exhaust, and Intake is what makes the most power. You want cooler intake temps, and higher exhaust temps. Thermodynamically, that makes for the most efficient engine.
So much negativity. We should embrace what people want to do with THIER dream setup not OUR dream setup. If it was my car i would have done it a different way but thats just the problem....it isn't MINE. I admire owners who prods along their dream and takes YEARS to realize their dream cars and hopefully one day i'll have mine too.....kudos to the owners, live your dream....to the distractors - prove you walk your talk.
Are you new here? A lot of folks here comments like a champ but I am not even sure if they own a decent ride or they actually live in their parents' basement jacking off to beeg.com and owns hands me down toy cars
man, the supra is just like the mona lisa, you just don't do such things to the mona lisa
you get what i mean??
On today's episode of Pimp My Ride...
Yep... that's what your grandpa said when he introed your mom to yr dad
That's so funny.
Waiting for the guy to complain about the phrase used "dry carbon"
It's butt ugly it looks like it got in the wrong fight, punched in the face and cannot see straight anymore ... .only a face a mother could love .... notice the only singular front angle photo... this is for a reason ...
Is that what all the Tinder comments you get?
The body work really finishes off the car.
The new supra better be good. This supra is even better than the damn stingray or the lexus thing
Way way way too much salt in the comment section..what's wrong with everyone?*
"what's wrong with everyone?" - nice one bro...
Overall I like it. It just seems that for a GT500 inspired car, the 5.5" stagger in wheel size front/rear would create a car with severe understeer.
Thanks Dino for the coverage.
i have nothing bad to comment.
the owner already put an effort to mod his Supra.
By the way, just like people say, the more, the merrier
all we have to do is enjoy motorsports.
chill & out. tq
Am wondering, such money being spent on this car out of love. The heat reflective tapes all over the engine bay. But what puzzles me is :
- Why not just pain the engine bay silver/chrome?
- Alot has been spent to reflect heat, why not contain the heat itself aka install a turbo blanket?
Owner's a brainless donkey
Good questions. Looks like the builder had more budget than sense. Should've taken some remedial engineering courses. The installer needs a lesson in basic thermodynamics, too. All of the intake and exhaust piping should have insulation directly applied. Why is there insulation on the shock towers, wheel tubs and fender mounts? It makes no sense at all.
All those curves, spoiler, GT wing, winglets on the car.........guess it is all for show.
The polished nuts at the front bumper/fender just stick up like a sore thumb......
GT500 (or inspired) cars don't sticker bomb their tyres.
how did they make the billet exhaust manifold?
not hating, just curious...
any pics of it before it was installed
Only part of that is billet, you can see the welds, so it can still fail at that point. And what material is that? It looks like Aluminum, but it has to be some kind of stainless, thus, it is a BRICK...and weighs way more than a nice tubular manifold. Also, look at the design. It's a log manifold. That means it totally compromises power output.
So, somebody fell for the old 'billet manifold' trick. Well, you should've done your homework. It could possibly be a little stronger, but you compromised power, weight and performance. Not a good compromise, because you probably paid a pretty penny for that thing too.
thanks, looks really nice
As an enthusiast based on malaysia,I would say this is the furthest for a car build can go here,JZA80's are among legendary status here,with insane tax on imported cars,there are huge fraction of enthusiast in mind who cant even effort a proper platform to start with.The scene here are filled with JDM converted CBU imports as genuine JDM car rarely hit the shores.Plus the fact that you cant import a car if it's older then 7 years, the road worthy one's are decreasing in numbers day by day,some totaled,some stripped for parts,hence the rarity.A JZA80 like this before all these serious mods(with the car alone)cost over 100k,that's 23k if converted to USD.As for the ride height,I can totally feel the owner's backpain after every touge session from genting on the way down.I used to run Cusco street zero coilover with 6k front and 9k rear on my legacy bp5.I know the feeling when you had to drive through humps,bumps,potholes,and even gravel left by dump truck sometimes on the road to your workplace everyday.Let's just say our public roads are on"work in progress" status.
too much money, no taste and has no knowledge in cars
Oh my god Sebastian you just spammed the whole comments section what the hell are you even talking about?? How can you even remotely make such a broad conclusion about someone from reading an article about their car? He doesn't know anything about cars because it is not to your taste? You deserve all the insults I cannot write to you on here, you expect credibility when you ruined this guy's comment section with the lamest and weirdest joke attempts I have ever seen (who the hell masturbates to BEEG or laughs about tinder as an adult) . Use your brain and put the car into context you peasant; did you see the bodykit went on 10 years ago? Before Supras became a god-like classic due to americans doing highway pulls with 1500hp? Does it even occur to you that MAYBE, especially in Malaysia, this would have been the COOLEST bodykit EVER at the time?? Let's see what your seats look like at 42...as for all the other critiques, nobody cares about your opinion, if the man wants to use heat shield tape as toiler paper as well, what's it too you? Awesome Car Bryan Chin you must be very proud to own it, kids these days don't even know history, this would sit comfortably next to ABflug Supra.
Robert, you are absolutely right about this.
I don't even like supras but this build is insane. From the custom widebody, to the interior, to the engine detailing it is a work of art. Hats off to them.
Perfect example of a car Ruined ! Engine bay looks like a mess with those cheap looking aluminium heat insulator. I mean why would any idiot put that in the engine bay ? By doing so, you're reflecting off the heat but the heat isn't going anywhere because its in the engine bay !
Whats up with those wheels anyway ? the rear fitment is horrible, like it was fitted to a 4x4 Truck with that much tyre sticking out of the fenders.
I guess money can't buy you taste !
If you were to go widebody, at least pick something that is suited for the car and not just to be a poser GT500 wannabe that is driven on the streets.
2/10 for effort
10/10 for being a poser.
Wow, that's one perfect example of a ruined Supra. Non-functional GT500 widebody and wheels that stick out like a saggy fat chick's ass from her undersized mini shorts.
If this Supra was in the states, it would be laugh upon real hard !
only thing nice about the car is the color but man, the rest of the car ruined it especially the cheap looking engine bay with reflective insulator tapes making the engine even hotter. Which dumbass mechanic recommended him to do so ?
With such width (18x14.5) on the rear, and skinny front (18x9), the car is only heading towards the wall in a corner.
This car just gave a bad name to the Supra community. Well done.