Talk about an aggressive power...
Talk about an aggressive power curve, Vinny has put an impressive 897 and 903 horsepower to the ground in back-to-back runs. That will get it done indeed. He says there is still more in the engine and is quick to note that these figures were generated off the bottle.
One of the big reasons the Supra has dropped its e.t.s like a bad habit is in the power transfer department. The Toyota has gone from the stock six-speed manual gearbox to a Powerglide two-speed automatic. The Powerglide is actuated by a billet lightweight flywheel, Pro Torque torque converter combination. Once through the gearbox, power is transmitted to the tarmac by an ACPT carbon fiber driveshaft, a Ford 9-inch rearend with Strange 40-spline axles and 31x14 Goodyear gumballs. The slicks are mounted to 15-inch Cragar Super Lights. Further aiding in the traction department are coilover shocks. Up front are Advance Designed shocks and Ground Control springs while the rear is made up of Konis and Ground Control springs. Vinny is quick to pointed out that his front suspension is entirely stock from A to Z.
Vinny's car is a conventional back-half chassis with a funny car style roll cage in charge of driver protection. The chassis work was performed by C&F Racecars. Vinny has retained the factory dash which is home to SPI and Auto Meter gauges with a ToraSport carbon fiber trim package adding a bit of style to the still-near-factory interior. Like before, an Erebuni body kit adds to the Supra's style points total but the car is running a different graphics set-up than it did for the last couple of seasons.
As one would expect, Vinny has built up quite a portfolio with his eight-second calling card. We have recently sent a photographer to NYC and he shot some other Performance Factory iron, including its seductive ghost-flamed JZA80 drag racer which we plan to cover in a future issue. Just as Abel Ibarra is known as the guru of rotary performance with his R100 and RX-7, Vinny's Performance Factory has become synonymous with Supra power. As this section so vividly illustrates the JZA80 should be a prime-time player for years to come making the Performance Factory a common stop on any Supra's power trip.