Toyota unveils a trio of custom GR Supras for SEMA 2020
Toyota digitally reveals two 1,000-plus horsepower drift Supras and a hand-painted custom as SEMA 360 heads online.
- North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year (NACTOY) Awards Juror
Toyota pulled the wraps off four custom cars and concepts for the 2020 SEMA Show today, including an overlanding Toyota Tacoma and three GR Supra drift and show cars.
COVID-19 has brought most of the major auto shows to their knees this year, but not even a pandemic can stop the insanity that is the SEMA Show. However, even the Specialty Equipment Market Association is social distancing these days, moving its big automotive aftermarket parts and accessories show online and rebranding as SEMA360.
First up is the Ornamental Conifer GR Supra, so named for its creator, British artist Nicolai Sclater, who creates under the moniker Ornamental Conifer. Sclater, artist-in-residence at Los Angeles cross-media creative agency Race Service, used a 2021 GR Supra 3.0 Premium in Turbulence Gray as his canvas to create this hand-painted work of art. Every letter and graphic was applied by hand with enamel paint and brushes. The result is an over-the-top tribute to "the lost art of sign painting and automobile graphics."
The Ornamental Conifer Supra is an over-the-top tribute to the lost art of hand-painted signs and automotive graphics.
This GR Supra is one of a kind, but Sclater and Race Service plan to release limited-edition artwork, shirts, key chains and other swag sometime soon.
The other two customs take the GR Supra in a completely different direction. The Papadakis Racing No. 151 and the GReddy Performance No. 21 GR Supras were each built to compete in the Formula D competitive drifting championship.
The (ahem) Papadakis Racing Rockstar Energy Drink Formula D GR Supra will be driven by Formula Drift Pro class with champion driver Fredric Aasbo and builds on the Supra's modified 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine with a big ol' BorgWarner EFR 9280 turbocharger. A long list of modifications -- including completely new internals, cams, manifolds, injectors and wastegates -- upgrade the B58 motor from the stock 382 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque to a tire smoking 1,033 horsepower and 908 pound-feet.
Fans of extreme drift builds can watch the Papadakis team assemble the engine and the rest of the race car in a series of YouTube videos.
The GReddy Performance No. 21 GR Supra was built by Ken Gushi Motorsports (and piloted by Mr. Gushi himself) in partnership with GReddy Performance. It also augments the 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder with the same BorgWarner upgraded turbocharger for big power. Other mods include a Sean Adriano Racing exhaust, a Samsonas six-speed sequential transmission for quickly banging through gears and a rear mounted radiator.
GReddy Performance (pictured here) and Papadakis Racing have each built Formula Drift Supras with over 1,000 horsepower each.
The Supra's already almost too curvaceous chassis is made even wider courtesy of a Pandem Rocket Bunny body kit. The result -- finished in a Toyota Gazoo Racing inspired white, red and black color scheme -- surprisingly works, especially when viewed sliding sideways. Matching the body's color scheme are a set of white Rays Gram Lights 57DR wheels.
The GReddy Performance GR Supra will compete at the 2020 Formula Drift season finale in Irwindale, California, in late November.
Toyota is also planning a second wave of builds that it's set to unveil within the next two weeks, including a one-off Sport Cup Edition with a removable roof that pays homage to a feature available on the Mk. 4 Supra.