If you were at the Racing Hearts charity drive event held on 14 August, you would have seen this amazing car in the drift demonstrations by Formula Drift, alongside the Toyota Chaser and Nissan Silvias. Along the US-based professional drifter, Kenshiro Gushi, Malaysian Formula Drift Asia veterans Ivan Lau and Ee Yoong Cherng, Singapore’s very own Formula Drift Japan drifter, Ng Sheng Nian, was piloting this beast!
Being around a few Lexus SCs… I mean Toyota Soarers, these cars were never meant to be a lightweight racing machine, at about 1.5 tons. Toyota meant the Soarer to be a luxurious and comfortable cruiser. That however, has never stopped anyone from tearing the guts out of a Soarer and drifting it at competitions (we’re thinking about you, Ueno).
While it may look like a regular metal Soarer, almost every exterior panel on this Soarer is fiberglass. It is technically a “shorter” car, since all the metal work beyond the wheel arches were cut off and replaced with a skinny space frame to support the panels from the passenger cell, which is where the original metalwork is still found.
Being braced with a full racing roll cage befitting a proper race car, the quest for weight savings goes beyond the sheetwork. Parts of the door, rear quarter windows and rear windscreen are made from polycarbonate, which helps in lowering the centre of gravity. The custom fuel delivery system was also designed with drifting – a tiny 30 litre tank means a couple of runs before having to bring the Soarer in for a refuel.
What is too much power? Formula Drift cars don’t have power limits imposed on them, which is a good thing as drivers can easily overcome the grip by flat-out power alone. With such a high-power car, the throttle is really a balancing act along with the steering inputs. They go hand in hand and only the best can tame this beast..
Remember the drift-spec Silvia that graced our magazine’s cover a while back? Yup, there is definitely an engine swap here with a 2JZ taking over the 1JZ. Considering the 2JZ has an extra .5 litres of displacement, it is known for rapid horsepower/torque climb before it hits the plateau at the mid-RPM range, that is at stock.
The 3.0 litre engine was further boosted with the addition of a Brian Crower stroker kit. With an increase to a 94mm stroke (as opposed to a 86mm stroke), the engine displacement was further increased without enlarging the pistons. A reinforced steel billet crank, connecting rods rated for over 1200 horsepower, and of course, a gentle reboring of the stock block for a slightly bigger piston of 87mm for a grand total of 3.4 litres of rage. custom CP aluminum forged pistons as well as the necessary support hardware were added to complete the heart enlargement operation.
Going insanely big Garrett GTX42 turbo rated for up to 950 horsepower. It is time to pay respect to a turbo that looks just as big as the engine it’s bolted on. During the build, the decision to custom-weld bends in the titanium pipes was certainly a sound one, as it reduced the chances of the giant turbo blowing out the weaker, but more common silicone connectors. Pressure is kept in check with a big 60mm wastegate. The giant is fed to a Tonnka intake manifold which is built insanely thick to withstand crazy high pressures, while the blower is fed by another custom Tonnka exhaust manifold.
Without no known dyno figures, our guesstimate is anywhere between 900 to 1000 peak horsepower, with DW 1200cc injectors and a NOS kit. Good thing this beast has a good suspension setup on RSRs and extra steering angle built into the Heyman front extended lower arm and knuckles. SSR GTX02 wheels embrace the brake system as well as super sticky Dunlop Direzza ZII Star tyres keep the car planted at all times, even when the rear end is breaking loose.
The Soarer is an odd choice when it comes to motorsports, but this is proof that brave choices can become the right choice. We can’t wait to see this beast in action again!
Toyota Soarer
Engine:
BC 3.4 2JZ engine build
BC 4340 billet steel crankshaft
BC 4340 Pro Series steel billet connecting rods
CP aluminum forged pistons
Iron plasma top rings, tapered second ring, low tension oil rings.
Tonnka intake manifold
Tonnka exhaust manifold
Tial 60mm wastegate
DW 1200cc injectors
Denso spark plugs
Garrett GTX42
NOS kit
Custom intake titanium pipings
Custom titanium straight flow exhaust.
Tonnka surge tank
Atl 30liter fuel tank
Bosch 044 Fuel pump x 3
Haltech platinum 2000 tuned by Oupp Thailand
Toyota 154R 5speed box
ATS triple carbon clutch
ATS Carbon 2 way lsd
Undercarriage:
RSR suspension
Heyman front extended lower arm
Heyman knuckle
SSR GTX02 wheels
Dunlop Direzza ZII Star – 265/35R18
Interior:
Zero creature comforts
Sparco Pedals
Morosso Motorsport switches
Custom dashmount
AIM digital dash
Tonnka brake lever
Adjustable Recaro bucket seat (driver)
Fixed Recaro bucket seat (passenger)
Exterior:
Ricardo, Binter and Dunlop tyres sponsorship livery
