PLANO, Texas (November 5, 2019) – NASCAR analyst Rutledge Wood and his build team have brought the GR Supra HyperBoost Edition to challenge GVP Ed Laukes’ GR Supra Heritage Edition at Toyota’s 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show display.

“I was excited for the return of the Supra for 2020, but I was thrilled at the chance to build one for the SEMA Show to go up against the GR Supra that Ed Laukes’ team put together,” said Rutledge Wood, NASCAR analyst, broadcast personality and self-proclaimed Supra fanatic. He continued, “I was also pumped up to work with Rick Leos once again, especially since our Camry XSE from SEMA 2017 beat all the NASCAR guys.”

“For Toyota to bring back the iconic Supra and then get a chance to build one for SEMA was a dream come true. I love the Supra, I own two Supra MKIVs so my mind started racing, thinking about what we could do to this machine. The GR Supra design came so naturally since the lines were already so aggressive and beautiful,” stated lead builder, Rick Leos.

Leos produced several renderings for the new GR Supra. The kit is manufactured with grade-A carbon-fiber and ended up being 20 pieces, including a winglet delete kit. This is the first kit he designed as a bolt-on that mounts to the car like an OEM body kit would. For added weight reduction, a carbon-fiber roof replaced the factory metal panel.

Once the first kit was laid out in carbon-fiber and fitted to the body, the Supra went to Quality Autobody North in Austin, Texas to be prepped for a fresh coat of TRD Cement Grey paint. The HyperBoost emerged from the paint booth with the appearance of a street brawler with its broad, muscular lines.

To fill the Supra’s widened wheel wells required a custom solution. Lightspeed Racing stepped up with a custom set of 3-piece wheels with carbon-fiber lips (20X10-inch up front and  20X12-inch out back). These rims were mounted with Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires (285/30R20 in the front and massive 335/25R20 in the rear). KW Automotive V3 adjustable coilovers drop the chassis over its new wheel package.

To juice up the horsepower quotient, Zohair Jaffery at Boost Logic delved into the new driveline. Jaffery first fabricated an exhaust manifold that positions a Garrett GTX3582R turbocharger between the shock tower and the engine. A Boost Logic downpipe and titanium exhaust route spent gases from the turbocharger to the rear fascia.

“To make more power, you have to outwit all of the technology. When you start to make significant gains, the ECM locks you out and goes into safe mode based on the torque sensors protecting the driveline. The car is so advanced, you have to outsmart it to build it,” said Leos. After Jaffery developed the fuel, ignition and boost tables, the engine produced peak output of over 750 horsepower.

Making more than double the factory output warrants an upgrade to stopping power. Leos selected Brembo forged 6-piston Monobloc calipers squeezing 380x34mm two-piece rotors to replace the stock front brake components. This new brake setup increases the heat capacity and the friction surface area for improved stopping performance.

The GR Supra HyperBoost Edition is Wood’s dream Supra build. “It was so fun to work with Rick on the GR Supra. He transformed a concept into reality, as this aptly named project features over 750 horsepower and wider, more aggressive lines, enough to send anyone into hyper boost!” exclaimed Wood.

The GR Supra HyperBoost Edition—along with other Toyota specialty vehicles—can be found in the Toyota display booth (#24800) in Central Hall and on the Patio Annex of the Las Vegas Convention Center, November 5 – November 8, 2019.