Designing the perfect car requires big dreams, real-world conceptual skills, a crystal ball and a touch of cosmic blessing. The purpose of the car and the demands that will be placed upon it (drift, drag, etc.) determine what performance parts are needed; the rest is karma.
Charles Park had big dreams when he acquired his 2004 Lexus IS 300. He wanted the ultimate street car that could flex hard on the street, yet still drag with the best of them and then turn around and beat exotics on a road course. Luckily, Charles had experience on his side; his previous vehicle was a heavily modified 2001 IS 300 that had been featured in other magazines.
The concept for his new IS 300, however, were next level in a big way. According to Charles, the results were clear: "This car is better in every aspect. It excels at things that my 2001 car didn't come close to accomplishing."
Charles was meticulous in his intentions for this Lexus. "Making the right decision on modifying a car is sometimes [very hard]. Nothing is stock. Everything has been addressed and modified to balance everything else."
Using his "smart design" philosophy, Charles was very careful not to push the car too much in one direction. He built the car to perform in all motorsports domains. He says, "This is not a drag car but a complete all-around car that will go 10s in the quarter-mile, be very competitive on the road course (against Vipers, 'Vettes, etc.), and drive [well] to and from the course on the street."
Building a vehicle that can hold its own on all forms of racing requires horsepower, and Charles' IS 300 has plenty of it-952 hp to the wheels on C-16 juice. Charles chucked the IS block in favor of a Supra turbo 2JZ-GTE bottom end. The techs at Swift Racing Technologies (SRT) performed the honors on the powerplant before making their way into the engine bay. The SRT crew used tried-and-tested components from JE Pistons and Crower. The bottom end was balanced, blueprinted and assembled with custom-coated SRT bearings and ARP hardware.
Up top the IS 300 GE head was ported and polished by Head Games before being reassembled with a Ferrea valvetrain that consisted of stainless-steel valves, dual heavy-duty valve springs and titanium retainers. HKS 272-degree bumpsticks on both the intake and exhaust side are fine-tuned via HKS adjustable cam gears.
Pressurization of the cylinder chamber comes by way of a custom SRT equal-length stainless-steel turbo manifold and Precision Turbo PT76 turbocharger. According to Precision Turbo, the PT76 is capable of producing enough airflow to generate 1,200 hp. Pressurized charge air is routed through lightweight aluminum I/C piping into a SRT-spec four-row Garrett intercooler.