Is it Even Possible a Modded Lexus SC300 Can Outrun a Huracan?
Lexus power is eschewed in favor of a small block Chevy. Still, we like the concept of this sleeper SC300.
Chris Steinbacher from the YouTube channel B Is For Build has some ambitious plans for a Lexus SC300. He wants to make it faster than a Lamborghini Huracan. “This is our Lexus SC300 that we bought for an eBay motors Challenge against Tavarish,” he says. ” You’d buy a car and build it for under $9,000, and go drag race it. If you guys remember, we failed absolutely miserably.” In fact, their fastest time of a 15.6 was nearly identical to a stock SC300… despite having a small block Chevy V8 conversion.
To be fair, the V8 swap was a budget build, bought from another budget builder. “The previous owner told me that the odds are, if that thing is not running well, it’s complete garbage,” Steinbacher explains. Rather than try and find the root cause of the missing horsepower in this engine, they will transplant an iron block 5.3 LS motor with one big single turbo.
We’re sure you’re thinking they should put a 1JZ or 2JZ, or even a 1UZ engine in this SC300 but they are planning on having this Lexus crash the party at LS Fest. Remember, their goal is a lofty one. They want to see if it can be faster than a Lamborghini Huracan, but ultimately to run an 8.5 second quarter mile too.
Achieving that kind of quarter mile time means building the car beyond the engine. Drag racing safety requirements increase as trap times go down. In order to run an 8.5 second pass, their car has to pass safety tech inspection. “To do that, we have to raise the safety levels of the car. Right now, we have a 4-point cage, with bad welds on it,” Steinbacher explains. They’ll take that out and weld in a new, stronger 6-point cage which will make passing safety inspections easier. As well, they will be adding a new racing seat and fire suppression system.
While all of that work is happening on the inside, we like that they will leave the outside alone. Steinbacher excitedly explains, “I want it to be like a “grandma’s car,” semi-sleeper looking car. We’re not going to do any improvements on the body. We’re going to leave everything exactly like it looks.” Outside of some keen eyes that might spot the drag racing wheels and tires, this sure will be a sleeper for sure.
