The Mk V Toyota Supra was basically born to be modded (thanks, Mk IV) and so far, it seems that the drifting world has brought us the most vicious A90 Supras. We’re looking at Japanese pro slider Daigo Saito’s 2JZ example and the 1,000 HP monster that American racer Stephan Papadakis built out of the B58 BMW factory 3.0L straight-six block. Well, there’s a new kid on the block—American pro drifter Ryan Tuerck’s V10-engined “Formula Supra”—and it might just take the cake.
The plan isn’t new—after all, the recipe isn’t all that different from the one the Formula Drift champion used for his Ferrari-swapped Toyota GT86 drift car, but this time around things have been taken to a whole new level. After all, as the professional slider had previously explained, this motor had been on his mind for about a decade, way before the said GT86 project came to be.
The engine bay of the athlete’s Supra now accommodates a Judd GV4 engine. We’re talking about a 4.0L V10, a naturally aspirated competition motor that debuted on the Rafanelli Riley & Scott LMP1 car at the American LeMans race in 1999. In addition, the British specialist supplying it explains that the unit can also be used as a heritage F1 engine—for Formula One racecars whose original motor is no longer on offer or requires costs that are too serious.
Tuerck has been working on the build since last year and gave the world the first proper preview of the Formula Supra about two months ago, having even completed a brief road adventure meanwhile.
Nevertheless, he recently took the machine to Willow Springs for its shakedown and the result is a bit like automotive S&M—that V10 screams at over 10,000 rpm, torturing your ears in a pleasant way, as it does a number on the rear tires (the factory stickers were still on the rubber) with a Hollinger sequential gearbox and a hydraulic handbrake as his assistants.
Don’t worry, 2JZ fans, this Lamborghini has you covered
For the record, the unit, which makes 750 horsepower and can rev all the way to 11,000 rpm, weighs about as much as the factory engine of the Supra. Besides, the linear power delivery of the atmospheric engine is just what the doctor ordered when you wish to steer with the loud pedal.
“We did basic systems checks on Big Willow for the first half of the day before heading to the skid pad to see how she drifted. We were fighting the alternator belt coming off the pulley all day so you will see it dangling underneath the car. Dom fixed that before the big shoot when we got back to the shop,” the slip angle master explains on social media.
Big shoot? Yes, this future treat is also mentioned in the video, so you’d better prepare your senses for some even more intense action coming “very soon”.
PS: Dear Satan, could we please-please have a drift battle between this and Ken Block’s (more or less) silent Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron electric drift car?
