You’ve been teased with concept sketches, progress images and video snippets, but now – after an intensive 90-day build – we can finally reveal Speedhunters’ 2014 Scion Tuner Challenge entry.
At a Scion launch event in LA this evening, our FR-S, along with those built by Super Street magazine and GT Channel, were unveiled ahead of their official debut at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas next week. And as you can see from the image above, our ’70s/’80s IMSA TRD racecar themed machine didn’t just make it to the finish line – it turned out better than we imagined! Hats off to Speedhunters’ Technical Editor, Keith Charvonia, and his small build team who have worked tirelessly on this project for the past three months, and designer Andy Blackmore and Rod Chong for making it happen. Of course, it couldn’t have been done without all the fantastic sponsors and partners involved too.
We’ll have lots more on the car over the next couple of weeks, including some detailed build stories leading into a full feature. There’ll also be an opportunity for you to (hopefully) give us your vote, which will translate to points towards our final score. Remember, this is a competition after all!
In the meantime, check out the new clip from Scion above, which shows the car (and those of our competitors) in the final days leading up to delivery. What’s going on under the hood? Take a look and you’ll find out…
Brad Lord
brad@speedhunters.com
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
First
You guys have definitely won
COSWORTH FOR THE WIN!! Damn thats some nice expensive mechanical electrical wizardry, design is ze best ;)) We want to see the wheels!!
I was tremendously skeptical at first (I'm sorry!), but this turned out great. I mean Cosworth? Keith hooked it up, nice job guys.
Though if super street gets those ITBs running that would be cool too...
you guys are going to blow SS and gtchannel out of the water!! cosworth and all those historical toyota racing references. too good
you guys are going to blow SS and gtchannel out of the water!! cosworth and all those historical toyota racing references. too good
I'm not a fan of Miura bodykits, but this...this I like. Maybe it's because the body kit actually fits the theme here. Dem wheels doe. Also dig the little touches like the fender-mounted mirrors. Seriously, nicely done.
Wow! You kept it close to those original drawings. I used to have suggestions for things you could, not any more after seeing this.
Still want to see those windshield bars and the driver's side window net! The car is fantastic either way. Very well done fellas.
Do I get points for guessing some of the main parts of the build? My guess is Supercharger, KM4SH kit, KW suspension, and Takata (either a harness, a tow strap or both) Not sure on wheels yet but could be an old school vibe?
So on board with this build and well done on what we can see so far, love it, especially the supercharger and the seats. Oh and the wheels, and the smooth overfenders, and the fender mirrors, and the graphics 10/10 would bang.
Brett Allen Don't Forget the other Sponsors of SH: Rays (Volk, gramlights, etc..) wheels and a CFS Radiator pretty sure on the checklist too
@JDMjunkies_ch Hasn't wound up looking like a checklist build. I'm well impressed and it looks far better than even my correct guesses would have led me to believe it might.
I didn't like the black car, but the yellow one will be kind of hard to beat. I will vote for SH Scion for sure, but where?
I must say, the Speedhunters Scion FR-S turned out great! It is the only FR-S/GT86 that I really like.
Great job guys, proper great job!
Hot damn, is this a late 70's circuit racer! I am in love with it! Picture perfect and great choice with the supercharger kit. My only negatives about this competition car is the heavy Audio in the trunk. I understand you need to give the car fans something to hear but to be honest I think you could do without. Solid build guys, great work! (Oh and that wheel tire set up is strait out of the 70's 80's.) You got my vote! - Reminds me of the ol' skool GT-40 look.
@jds AGREED!
Those wheels are custom made Rotiform if im not mistaken, it was mentioned on the build article.
NickSilvia The Audio install in the trunk wasnt the SH car, it was the Super Street car, if you look closely at the footage you will see that the interior is gutted and that the trunk has what looks like a filler neck for the fuel tank poking out of it, no room in there for audio
Where are the Vossens/TE37s?
That is one nice Scion FR-S with that old school-inspired livery. As always, it's a good job well done.
Cosworth and meaty chunky tires?? yummy.....!!!! Me likey....!!!!
Woah, This might end up being one of my favorite gt-86/frs/brz builds that I've seen yet.
You guys (and rotiform) crushed it with those wheels, and I have to say that Cosworth supercharger kit looks like a really tidy package.
Beautiful car! I love the retro feel of it. So are the mirrors something old or something new?
I think SH has this on lock. Other than ITB's, I'm not really all that impressed with the other builds.
Job well done with the theme!! I think the checkered flag is yours.
Bima Leksono and in the video
Whatever this is, this better be a Hot Wheels car.
Mainline. Or maybe Treasure Hunt.
Nice car from the Speedhunters crew, but the Superstreet car will probably walk away the winner...if only SH had done ITB's to complete the retro theme
I hope its turbocharged just like the IMSA cars.
Now that is the boobies.
In Keith we trust
Honestly, if I hear one more person complain about volk/rays wheels I'm going to die.
looks nice, i do love those fender mirrors!!!!!
JoshuaWhitcombe NickSilvia Yeah, we skipped the audio requirement because it just didn't belong in a vintage race car. We will get a 0 in the audio portion of the judging, but hopefully the strong theme and execution make up for it, right?
Hotcakes I've been saying all along that this would not be a car that you look at and say "That's a Rocket Bunny car!" We wanted the parts to fit the theme, but not define it. I'm glad to see that people recognize that.
Nah for me SH will be win this because SH going to be all out
love the chin style front bumper and the strip
Btw, GT Channel/Mine's FRS looks nice too
@zz You did watch the film right? Oh no... Supercharged!
@nerd Oh I'm sorry, you missed your boat
Damnit you guys...
This is PERFECT!!!!! And that Cosworth supercharger is clean AF! Definitely something to save my pennies for.
Damnit you guys...
This is PERFECT!!!!! And that Cosworth supercharger is clean AF! Definitely something to save my pennies for.
@Beany Did not realize Gearheinz was working on the SS car! There will be some stiff competition. Looking forward to seeing them in person next week.
Love that you installed cosworth stuff! Amazing car guys really big congrats to you!
Best looking car should be the SH FR-S and thats a big accomplishment if you ask me, but I reckon that SS will fetch the trophy for the shaved engine bay with the ITBs.
I like what you did there, Keith and that means a lot since I was in disbelief that you will attain such a good interpretation of JDM looks considering you are a kustom car guy. Good job, you managed to portray Blackmore's design very accurately. Thumbs up from me!
FunctionFirst I was thinking the same thing.
KeithCharvonia JoshuaWhitcombe NickSilvia They sure do. And i completely agree with you on the whole audio part. Congratulations; you Andy and Rod built a superb car. You got this.
KeithCharvonia Honestly, in my eyes you totally achieved what you set out to do. From the louvres to the livery and down to the small details like the SH logo on the steering wheel (and the inspired decision to put the head rests as part of the roll hoop)
@TROLLS ROYCE Our engine bay is actually shaved more than Super Street's, they just didn't show much of it in the video.
Thanks for the kind words.
Dhikaz All out is right. I think when you see what we did to the car it will show that we left no stone unturned. Nearly every nut and bolt has been removed and replaced, and we covered the build from every angle - engine, electrical, suspension, braking, exterior, interior. Even things like the wheel wells were cleaned and repainted in black. There are also a LOT of one-off parts that are either the first one made or something we made by hand that is not available anywhere. This is not a catalog build!
Dhikaz All out is right. I think when you see what we did to the car it will show that we left no stone unturned. Nearly every nut and bolt has been removed and replaced, and we covered the build from every angle - engine, electrical, suspension, braking, exterior, interior. Even things like the wheel wells were cleaned and repainted in black. There are also a LOT of one-off parts that are either the first one made or something we made by hand that is not available anywhere. This is not a catalog build!
Speedhunters_Bryn I couldn't turn down a new Cosworth supercharger that had never been seen before. I even signed an NDA to see the first pics.
Afroneck I bought them from Japan on eBay. They came in OEM boxes and said they fit vintage Skylines, Celicas etc.
@nerd sigh....
@nerd sigh....
SeBaBunea Thanks!
Brett Allen You were close, we went with RS-R Black-i coilovers. Had to get the car LOOOOW with the KM4SH kit and small 17" tires up front.
Rear tires are 25.5" tall and fronts are 24.5" tall, in keeping with the actual sizing used on real IMSA racers. This meant the car would have a strong forward rake, both in suspension and rubber.
The front splitter is about 2" off the ground!
@JDMjunkies_ch Brett Allen What Rays?
All three Tuner Challenge builds have CSF radiators, but we have the only aluminum filler neck, which I helped CSF design. I have the same CSF rad in my daily and it works great!
Brett Allen KeithCharvonia Thanks!
I think the car looks amazing. Keith, you've managed to blend a modern car with a very classic design flawlessly. Something I'm sure was no easy feat. What really stood out to me in the video was how complete the car looked when the video was shot. GT Channel and SS appear to have quite a way to go. I do hope they complete on time and wish the other two teams all the best of luck... They're going to need it. Great job to everyone involved with this, very well done.
This is the best 86 i have seen ever! It's different but reminds me to classic Toyota race cars. It's agressive but it have a very clean style. No audio, no unnecessary accesories, just an awesome machine ready for the track. I hope you win!
What are the wheel/tire specs?
AZMIDLYF 17x9 and 17x11 Rotiform BLQ with custom turbofan inspired front spokes, 235/40R17 and 315/35R17 Nitto NT01 competition road course tires
That is properly impressive!
I'm a frequent visitor but this is my first comment ever on this website. I just have to say congratulations big time. This execution is fantastic.
KeithCharvonia AZMIDLYF
Spacers or offset +/-?
For sure the Speed Hunters FRS should win!!
No clutter it's as smooth as butter i really like SH FRS
SEMA are going to need a SWAT team on standby when the winner is announced. Because if this doesn't win, there will be a riot.
Coolest zn6 I've seen! You guys have to win!
Absolutely love it! So different, and so fresh. Dig the stepped duckbill too.
Speedhunters_Bryn I replied to this on my phone and couldn't get the video to play, my bad. But hey, not bad!
Thanks for all the positive comments guys. Really appreciate it. Was great seeing all three builds.
takes seconds
The fan vote is NOW LIVE! Head over to http://www.scion.com/scionracing/tunerchallenge/ and choose your favorite build
Trying to be unbiased and I still think you guys got this. Without seeing the cars in the flesh it's hard to compare the finish of the cars, however I'm sure Keith doesn't seem like one to cut corners. However what you can see from a mile away in the video is the way you guys have picked a theme and then NAILED IT, rather than the scatter gun attempts of the other teams (not meant in a bad way). I love that kind of dedication to a running theme and I think you guys absolutely deserve the title for pulling it off.
It's still early but it looks like SH is posting a landslide in the voting!!
You guys hit the ball out of the park with this thing. I love it.
Voted! It's a no-contest. Love the livery and the ORVMs.
Great job guys!
Massive respect due to AndyBlackmore & KeithCharvonia . KILLER job chaps
Excuse the language but this thing looks fucking unreal. Cant wait to see more of it.
Unable to vote at the moment for some reason but will try again later.
Top work guys.
P.s I'll take on of those diffusers pls
Start of the N2 GT86 series??? This car is amazing!
Vote for SpeedHunters here! http://www.scion.com/scionracing/tunerchallenge/
Thanks so much for the kind words everyone! We worked REALLY hard for all 90 days and pulled out all the stops!
azmedaj Thanks for your vote!
I don't even know who to vote :S
All are awesome!
What's this car doing with itself these days?
JakWhite has been at various shows. Just been at Chicago Motor Show this past week