Alive & Drifting: HGK’s 1,000hp, 2JZ-Powered A90 Supra

In summer 2020, I had the opportunity to visit HGK Motorsport in Latvia, where the team was working on their first A90 Toyota Supra drift car.

During my visit, the A90 had all the fabrication work done, but was missing that HGK signature carbon-Kevlar body kit and an engine. Up until just a couple of weeks ago, we had no idea what the HKS ‘Supra Jet’ would look like in its finished form, but today we can show you.

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My original plan was to travel to Russia and photograph the completed car, but we all know why that couldn’t happen. Instead, we collaborated with Vsevolod Rozhok, a talented young drift photographer from Siberia, who provided these striking images to go with my dry copy.

HGK spent an entire year developing this chassis into a competitive world-class drift machine, with every aspect of the new build engineered from scratch. Initially, a stock A90 was 3D-scanned and then undressed to a bare shell where excess pieces were shaved off, important elements were strengthened, and a roll cage was designed and tightly integrated within the cabin.

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The body kit was also engineered, not simply designed to look good. HGK’s head engineer, Harijs Skupelis, worked closely with a 3D designer to give calculated feedback for the optimum mounting points, where the air should flow, what parts should have easy access and so on.

It’s actually the first A90 full body kit in the world; every OEM panel was replaced with an upgraded carbon-Kevlar piece. The kit shaves a couple of hundred kilos.

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This particular car was built for Toyota Gazoo Racing-supported driver Nikita Shikov, who drives in the Russian Drift Series (RDS). Since it was destined to compete in one of the world’s top drifting series and perform straight out of the box, using the BMW B58 engine wasn’t an option for Nikita. Instead, he opted for the reliable and familiar 2JZ-GTE, tuned to just over 1,000hp through a Brian Crower stroker kit and a single Garett G35-900 turbocharger, among many other performance parts. The engine was prepared by Chepa Racing in Ukraine, a company operated by current RDS champion Alexey Golovnya.

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Nikita’s team is in close contact with a number of international drift teams running the new Supra, and everyone is openly exchanging chassis data. Nikita is sure that he’ll swap back to the Supra’s original engine in the future, but right now they’re waiting for Papadakis Racing to figure out the weak points.

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Japanese drivers Masato Kawabata and Daigo Saito were the first to prepare A90s for drifting, and noted that while the stock car handles extremely well, as soon as you start widening the track it can quickly get snappy. Having this information, HGK’s engineers were able to adjust the Wisefab kit accordingly. They were also able to work with Russian company Power Wheels to build special sets of wheels measuring 18×9-inch +22 up front and 18×9.5-inch -6 in the rear. Of course, to allow the wheel and tire combo to operate at their maximum angle of attack, a good chunk of metal needed to be chopped out of the inner arches.

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As you’d expect with a build of this caliber, the cooling, fuel tank, and oil systems are located in the center of the vehicle to shield them from contact, as well as to limit the pendulum effect. What you’ll find in the rear is a combination of bash-bar and crash-bar to absorb any impact. The carbon-Kevlar body itself has become the standard for top-tier drifting for its elasticity.

A little bit of trivia that not many people know: HGK Motorsport doesn’t actually make the carbon-Kevlar pieces themselves. This aspect of HGK builds is outsourced to OCT Composites, another niche Latvian company.

In the end, the HGK Supra lost 925lb (420kg) from its factory weight, tipping the scales at 2,535lb (1,150kg). The headlights, taillights, and F1-style fog light in the rear are the only stock exterior items retained.

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Real-world testing of the Supra has just began for HGK and Nikita, and in the numerous videos circulating online the car looks both fast and competitive.

On the subject of video, HGK prepared the clip above, which takes an extensive look at the build, if you’re interested.

We’ll be keeping an eye on how the Supra performs in this year’s RDS, and hopefully I’ll be able to see the finished car for myself sooner rather than later.

Vladimir Ljadov
Instagram: wheelsbywovka
because@wheelsbywovka.com
www.wheelsbywovka.com

Photography by Vsevolod Rozhok
Instagram: itsbombaymane

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1

HKS ‘Supra Jet’??? :)

Author2

not this time :)

3

I was thinking the exact same thing!

4

Could this thing look any cooler sideways?!
Massively respect the engineering gone into this.

Author5

Yes, if there are two of them sideways! ))

6

Thanks God - this is not a rocket bunny. Everything is better without riveted overfenders.

Author7

You get the point, man!

8

Now THIS is a Supra!!!!!! I wonder why I haven't heard of many kits out there to do this transformation into street cars.

Author9

Because such a kit requires to make new fitting points, etc. You can totally buy such a kit from HGK if you're willing to do the work for installing it. It's not a plug & play job, unfortunately.

10

Very Nice photos!!! tho this car is gorgeus at every angle you watch it!! Sorry for the out of topic: what kind of horses are those ?? They seems very small! (6th picture)

11

Since the entire body is kitted with carbon-kevlar replacement panels, couldn't they just shave of the proboscis nose?
The graphic designer did a superb job of combining the livery/colour and composite material.

Author12

I kinda love the nose!

13

I never got the whole "beak" thing. I'm still at a loss to explain the popularity of the fourth-generation Prelude.

14

A Supra with a body made from the same material as bulletproof vests?

Nice! You could even drive it in Los Angeles!

15

Or in Chicago :-)

Author16

that's why it's in Russia, mate :)

17
thathellastockusdm3rdgenyaris@instagram

is anyone gonna use the original engine. Im sure the whole entire idea of the new supra is to use the original engine.

18

20 year RND v. 1 year-ish RND....

19

Frederic Aasbo and Papadakis Racing used the OEM engine this past season of Formula Drift

20

I'm sure people will start using them soon, it's just that the 2j is a tried and true way to make a thousand hp whereas the b58 is still rather unknown. As he said, hgk will probably be switching back to the stock engine once they know more about the weak links. BTW i think the b58 will become a popular engine once the bmw x40's get cheaper and people start tuning them. (the x40's came with the b58)

21
thathellastockusdm3rdgenyaris@instagram

it will be nice to seee.

its just a technology advancement thing.

its almost like toyota spends millions of dollars developing a motor and its still not good enough.

its offensive to me.

you can make 1,000 hp with b58 you just need to start makign custom parts and that requires investors with lots of money.

see its a trickledown effect.

remember rockford hills in NFS u2.

where all the rich people had stuff two or three chapters ahead of you?

thats basically what im talking about.

its why mercedes is good for 10 years and it trickles down after 12.

R&D. gotta do it to make parts if theres no support then theres no parts.

22

I don't hate the kit as a whole, but there is definitely something off about the lines/shape above the wheel flairs. front looks like they didn't have enough initial height so they cut it, moved it up, and then blended it back in to the hood line, but said 'f the back'. On the rear I don't know why they didn't reshape it to get rid of that awkward bulge from the factory body line that cuts through rear flair as it transitions into the c-pillar. That bulge has no place/flow in the new body lines. I only notice either of them from a hand full of angle, but they look really off when you're at those angles.

23
Jay Soh Tsu Chung

My exact thoughts! The flow of the front flares are just wrong.

Author24

It's great that the chassis is still fresh and hopefully there will be plenty of other body kits for the Supra.

25

We saw this car. Ummm hate to burst your bubble guys, but we don’t any future in it as a “great” drift car. This bmw with toyota engine simply isn’t as great looking on the track vs a silvia with not too much drift mods. It’s all good for car shows and all but its competitiveness is so-so.

26

BMWs have been taking over as the preferred drift chassis for a while now, and for a good reason. HGK's own E46 and E92 are/were absolute rocketships. With the correct mods, a Zupra will be a great drift car.

27

You're comparing a 30 year old chassis to a new car thats barely been out for a year.........

28

The Silvias are running out: wrapped around poles, imprinted in concrete and just rotted away.. Nissan has withdrawn itself from the production of affordable performance cars. Only Toyota has ambitions to do at least something new, both under its own name and as a Lexus. Or Corvettes have a chance to become new Silvias before corrupt politicians completely ban internal combustion engines in order to steal all taxpayer money.

29

Awesome looking car! But I still do not get drifting! DTM. F1. Porsche Cup series. 1 mile shootout. Drag racing. IMSA. Drifting? You're sliding car sideways burning up tires doing about 35MPH. I'm sure it's not easy but it just looks stupid to me. Maybe I'm too old. If I was like 24 maybe it would appeal to me. Still like the car though...

30

This car really is a loss. Toyota took a big fat L. No matter how many people promo it, and say its great, no matter how many they sell. It is not a Supra, and does not have the spirit of the Supra-- all previous gens included. And people are swapping the engine for a 2j anyways...

IMO the Lexus LC500 says Supra more than the actual GR Supra. Slick, big-body, two-door coupe, fresh and new looking... With a TOYOTA ENGINE!

31

I thought this is my comment, although I don't remember when did I wrote this. Sadly, nothing to be done. Can't cry over a spilled milk anymore.

32

It's a better Supra than Toyota would've built on their own. The Toyota of the 90s is long gone, and this is about the best you could hope for.

33

Everyone hated on the frs/brz when it first came out and that was a toyota with a subaru boxer. Im sure this will eventually grown on people too, they already widebody all of them lol

34

As a subscriber to RW i did see the video with the car wearing bear Kevlar and i think the livery made it even better. I'm happy to know that the B58 will make it's way later just because I'm tired of the thought that if Toyota produced a 3JZ it would be better, people forget that each year the rules are stricter and seeing a unicorn is more probable than having an engine able of withstanding triple its original power without internals upgrade.

35

Not a Z4 any more.

36

400Z

Author37

this will be a showdown/race to watch one day!

38

looks like a race car with those wheels and tyres

39

honestly I prefer to see more B58. 2JZ swap are great but like LS swap or DFV in 80s F1, I feel like it's getting overdone.

Author40

B58 is coming for this car, but it needs a bit more R&D first!

41

Goddamn this thing is awesome!
Can't wait to see this at Formula D!

42

i find it crazy that a 30 year old engine design is deemed better than brand new.......

43
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Who's is going to build an old Supra with a B58 engine?!! Now that I wana see, spaghetti!!!

44

ola ola, spaghettiola!!!

45

nice article but my question is... HOW can HGK make a 2 jz rounding up to 1000 horsepower!? i mean theres prob. other things upping its hrspr but WOW....

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