Racer Steph Papadakis has squeezed 1,000 hp out of four-cylinder Toyota engines before, including the powerplant in the team’s current Rockstar Energy Drink/Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla Hatchback, which is leading all competitors in the Formula Drift championship hunt with just two events to go. Speculation has been rampant that Papadakis Racing will run the new 2020 Supra next year, but so far, no announcement has been made on that.
Nonetheless, Toyota just rolled a flatbed truck up to the gates of the Papadakis Racing compound in Carson, California, and dropped off a shiny black 2020 Supra for the boys to play with. So what’s the first thing they did? Pulled the engine out and tore it apart.
The idea is to somehow find the 1,000 hp necessary to compete in Formula Drift’s top class. How will he do it? He has no idea.
“Right now, he actually doesn’t know what he’s going to do to get it there,” said team spokesperson Jen Horsey.
Papadakis narrates the video as the engine comes apart, noting that it “looks promising” for the 1,000-hp build. Other interesting things pop up, too, such as the six-cylinder’s two exhaust headers, internal intercooler and deeply recessed fuel injectors and plugs, as well as the operation of the two camshafts on top. It’s fascinating stuff to anyone who has ever torn down an engine.
This is the first of four videos on the Papadakis Racing YouTube channel. The next three will see Papadakis trying new ideas on his quest toward the 1,000-hp mark. Will he get there? Well, considering how robust the engine looks, and the fact that this one has six cylinders instead of four, and considering Papadakis’ long history of racing success, I vote yes, he will get it. But what do I know?
The only other thing left to see is if Toyota officially lets him run a new Supra in 2020 Formula Drift. Maybe that will depend on whether his driver, Fredric “The Norwegian Hammer” Aasbo, can win the title this year? That will come down to how the team does in Dallas Sept. 12-14 and in the finale at the House of Drift in Irwindale, Calif., on Oct. 18-19.
In the meantime, watch this and the next three vids to see what happens with the engine.
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