“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” - Anotole France.

It’s shame that the majority of dreams and the promises made to ourselves as young children and adolescents will never come to fruition. Whether it’s the shift of priorities, the harsh truths of reality setting in, or simply a lack of focus or opportunity – there’s not an adult alive who doesn’t carry at least a few of those unrealised vows.

For people like you and I, the list usually includes the empty silhouette of a rare or desirable car left unpurchased or relegated to the unattainable list. It may also include a racing career, opening a shop, or even visiting a particular bucket list event (*cough* Gatebil, Goodwood Festival of Speed, Le Mans *cough*)

For me, it was the promise that I’d buy myself a Dodge Viper GTS SRII before I turned 30. It never happened, of course, but I’m completely OK with that. At least that’s what I tell myself, just as I’d imagine the majority of the population do, too.

After all, what’s the appeal of an 8.0-litre (487.6ci) V10 when it’s packed into such a beautifully designed mobile skid factory? Oh, wait…

Fortunately, few hold strong when the majority of us crumble under pressure by refusing to deviate from their gloriously adolescent life plans.

Despite it taking over a decade to materialise, Andrew Hannason assures me that his video game-inspired dream of building his ideal big-powered Toyota Supra was well and truly worth the wait and all the sacrifices along the way.

Having owned three Supras before the current build, all of which were sold to fund adult pursuits like careers and investments, Andrew had a pretty solid idea of how to tackle the ultimate Supra long before this 1999 example was occupying space in his garage.

Peer pressure can be a real bitch sometimes, but when your mates are running some of the fastest Skylines and GT-Rs in the world, their loose association with the build is the perfect excuse – I mean inspiration – for taking things to the next level.

As such, the first priority was freeing as many wild horses as possible from the extremely capable twin-turbo 3.0-litre Toyota 2JZ-GTE.

“The ultimate goal with it is to get it into the 7s, and be able to take it cruising on longer weekend trips to the beach without having to worry about reliability issues,” Andrew told me.

Basically, nothing short of the ultimate streeter.

Chasing big, reliable power from the smaller JDM engine capacities can be a dangerous, and quite frankly scary prospect. In this case though, executing such a plan was as simple as a conversation with an old mate at a New Year’s Eve party.

If only it was that easy for the rest of us.

That friend was Mick Mansour from Motor Sports Mechanical, still a relatively new player in Australia’s high-horsepower battleground when compared to some of the more established players.

If the new kid on the block keeps pumping out builds like KNG2JZ and the plethora of Skylines ripping up Tuners Edge Drag Battle/ GT-R Challenge, it can only reinforce that the company has what it takes to run with the big boys in the field.

The 20-year-old engine was completely stripped, and the cylinder head was CNC ported for extra flow. A pair of Camtech 272-degree camshafts were fitted up, as were 1mm oversized valves.

Nitto forged conrods connect a set of JE forged pistons to the almost bulletproof OEM crank, now supported by ACL Race bearings. As is almost traditional Down Under, a Haltech Elite 2500 ECU provides the brains and also interfaces with the Bosch drive-by-wire kit.

A fairly well proportioned Precision Turbo 7685 and Hypertune inlet manifold get the party moving, with E85 fuel fed through a dozen 2,000cc injectors. Take notes 2JZ owners, here’s your recipe for a reliable 1,100hp. Cute, right?

Don’t get too excited just yet though, you’ll also need something similar to Andrew’s TH400 transmission and Strange 9-inch rear end to get all that power to the ground effectively.

Oh, and there’s plenty of nitrous oxide on tap should the sudden urge to unleash a Need for Speed moment present itself.

Statistics and power figures look great on paper (and in video games) but it’s the real world application that counts. After losing count of how many hard runway passes and massive skids I witnessed firsthand over the GT-R Challenge/Drag Battle weekend at Cootamundra, an event that pushed many other cars past their breaking limits, it’s crystal clear that this Supra has been built right.

The same level of enthusiasm applied to the engine and driveline was applied to all other aspects of the vehicle.

A wide-body kit or any other over-the-top body modifications were never on the table. Instead, just a few modest additions – namely, a simple front lip and a carbon blade for the wing – complement a  fresh coat of royal Red paint to emphasis the often overlooked but still amazing body lines of the JZA80.

The exterior’s theme of understated refinement is continued with a set of staggered Weld Wheels racing rims (17×4-inch fronts and 15×10-inch rears) shod in Mickey Thompson rubber.

The classic five-spoke design of the Welds certainly looks right at home on the late ’90s chassis.

The massive 275/60 ET Street Radials lurking under the rear guards betray the otherwise stock look body, hinting with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to KNG2JZ’s true performance potential.

The luxury of Alcantara and a well-appointed entertainment unit emphasise the streetability of the project. Leather-clad Recaro Pole Position seats provide the best of both comfort and function for driver and passenger. The rear seat has been deleted.

Safety should always be paramount when building a car that’s chasing single-digit time slips. Despite the Supra’s dapper interior, a sturdy 6-point roll cage reinforces that survival was the most important aspect when planning the occupant zone.

So what do you think? Is this the ultimate driver’s Supra? Simple aesthetics, uncompromising performance and an interior space that transforms long drives into an absolute pleasure.

Outside of a very short list of historic Supras that carry some additional nostalgic value, such as TOM’S Castrol Supra, Smokey Nagata’s infamous Top Secret Supra and a certain cringe-worthy vinyl-decorated orange Supra from the silver screen, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better example of the 1990s cult classic.

Long live the King.

Matthew Everingham
Instagram: matthew_everingham
matt@mattheweveringham.com

Andrew would like to extend his gratitude to 2Sus Customs, Concept Garage, Hypertune, Haltech, Turbosmart and all that supported the build. He’d also like send a special thank you going out to the family at Motor Sports Mechanical for turning his dream into a reality.