1994 Toyota Supra

If perfection is an empty promise, will we ever own the perfect car, or just continuously pursue our definition of perfection? Think about it.

Jim Flewelling thought about it and decided to create his vision of automotive perfection. The result is this austere white 1994 Supra Turbo that may look a bit plain on the outside, but packs enough power to trump nearly any production car on earth, enough tire to embarrass a stock car and enough comfort, luxury and safety to satisfy any Volvo engineer.

Unlike the gaggle of Supra straight-line specialists and dyno queens, Jim wanted to make the car a track terror, laying waste to Ferrari Club snooties on track days. He succeeded. Six hundred fifty-wheel hp was the goal, as was an engine that would laugh off hours of track abuse. Jim decided Jarrett Humphries from Powerhouse Racing in Haslet, Texas, would deliver on this vision.

The Supra reached PowerHouse Racing with more than 100K on its ticker, so Humphries started the engine buildup with a new, stock, famously stout short block. The head remains unported, but is held down with ARP head studs. Stock cams remain for driveability, but compress PowerHouse Racing dual valve springs and PHR Pro Alloy valves.

In redefining the Supra's turbo system, Jarrett used mostly GReddy parts. The stock twin turbos were ditched for a single turbo setup, using a GReddy SP stainless exhaust manifold. PowerHouse's own fully ported Stage 2 GT turbo with a 62mm wheel was installed, along with an HKS GT-series 60mm wastegate, which is divorced. The mondo three-row front-mount intercooler is also from GReddy, and a blow-off valve from HKS keeps the pricey turbo healthy. From GReddy comes a downpipe and SP exhaust with baffles removed; these expel the Supra's fiery mess and give it the sound of a pissed-off grizzly.

Feeding this beast are dual high-flow Walbro fuel pumps spitting through 720cc injectors. The injectors are part of the PowerHouse Racing Stage I fuel system upgrade and provide enough headroom for 700 hp. To manage it all, HKS supplied an alphabet worth of controllers, including a VPC (Vein Pressure Converter), GCC (Graphic Control Computer) and EVC EZII (Electronic Valve Controller), which were tuned by Jarrett Humphries to make this car's big, round numbers.

The result of all that mechanical investment? A claimed 651 wheel hp at only 6300 rpm, and a very flat 649 lb-ft of torque at 4800 rpm, at an admittedly high 2 bar of boost. Monstrous, usable power. On the track, Jim runs 1.75 bar or 25 pounds of boost, which is only further evidence of the 2JZ's strength.

Turning that grunt into forward motion is an RPS carbon/carbon clutch, clamped to a Fidanza lightened flywheel, which provides a happy balance of driveability and large torque capacity.

Reliability, like making hours of power on Southern California's hottest days, is addressed with thorough fluid management. The Turbo Supra isn't famous for its cooling abilities, and the stock radiator was replaced with an upgraded unit from Fluidyne. Humphries again chose GReddy for its oil cooler kit and installed a custom power steering cooling kit.

To protect his considerable financial investment, GReddy boost, EGT and oil temp gauges allow Jim to keep tabs on the turbocharged engine while he's busy making exotic owners soil themselves with dismay.

If the mighty Supra has an Achilles' heel, or rather a hippo's ankle, it's a curb weight that's more yacht than racing skiff. Heavy cars need large contact patches to pull racecar-like g, and Jim managed to stuff oil-drum-sized rollers under the Supra's wide flanks. Excellent dual-use Michelin Pilot Sport Cup R-compound tires, a huge 295mm wide in the front, and 315mm in the rear, are wrapped around CCW forged three-piece wheels, 18x10 inches in the front and 11.5-inches wide in the back.

Still, 651-wheel hp is enough to liquefy any tire you throw at it, which isn't a bonus when your main goal is to rip up road courses. To solve this problem, Jim turned to a RaceLogic traction control system that operates in much the same way as those banned from Formula 1 in the '90s. RaceLogic uses the stock ABS sensors to detect wheel spin, and cuts spark in response to lower power output. The amount of allowable wheel spin is controllable via an in-cockpit knob. The theory is that you can keep your right foot planted and let the computer modulate wheel spin.

Although a StopTech 14-inch big brake kit has been installed since we shot the car, Jim previously relied on the sizable stock setup. To reduce the likelihood of cracking or warping, the stock discs, squeezed by Carbotech Panther XP pads on all four corners, were cryo-treated.

Ground Control's high-end arm, Advanced Design, built double-adjustable coil-overs for the Supra. Likely with an eye toward predictability and handling ease, 900-pound springs suspend the long iron block up front, with soft 550-pound springs holding up the back end. TRD anti-roll bars in the front and rear help keep the Supra's mass as centered as possible over its contact patches.

When you have 700-odd hp at your disposal, why advertise? When a distracted driver drove his cluelessness into the back of the Supra, Jim took advantage of the body shop experience to de-bling the Supra by removing the stock wing and shaving the emblems.

Unafraid to add a few pounds for total occupant satisfaction, a well-balanced audio package with a custom enclosure was installed. Nakamichi supplied a six-disc in-dash changer, whose signal is split and amplified by an MTX 475-watt amplifier. MTX 4-inch fronts, 6-inch rears and a single 10-inch sub combine to provide judicious quantities of loud, clean sound, without gross weight and complexity. Not content with the lateral support offered by the comfort-biased stock seats, Jim replaced them with Sparco Milano IIs.

Other items Jim has added since we shot the car are a TRD 3.27 ring and pinion and Titan solid rear subframe mounts to replace the overtaxed stock units.

Is there more room for improvement? Jim thinks so. He says he still has a few things planned, which, of course, forces the question: If there's more room for improvement, how can the car be perfect? Think about it.

InteriorSparco Milano Ils, GReddy 50mm boost gauge, GReddy 60mm EGT, GReddy 60mm oil temp, Nakamichi in-dash six-disc changer, MTX 475-watt amp, MTX 6000 4-in. fronts, MTX 6000 6-in. rears, MTX 8000 10-in. subwoofer