By John C. Naderi
I am not a very patient person. I can't make it through a naughty movie without tickling the FF button (among other things), and instant noodles aren't immediate enough without the aid of a microwave. But my intolerance is positively virtuous when compared to Kazuhiko Nagata. Smoky (as he is known for his mastery of the long, lurid burnout) refuses to wait for the world's leading automakers to produce a new model, choosing instead to take matters into his own very capable hands.
For the better part of the last decade Smoky has been churning out solid gold nuggets of tuning bling from within the confines of his Top Secret Performance Engineering Service shop. Exactly two years ago, Top Secret's CV35 Skyline debuted at the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon. The car flexed a twin-turbo VK45 V-8 from a Nissan Cima. Smoky could no longer stand for the long-awaited release of the next generation Skyline GT-R and this was his own personal design study. At the time he was even thinking of grafting in a custom AWD system.
At the '07 TAS (we know we lag, our coverage will come next month) Smoky was at it again as he unveiled his latest concept-a gold Supra. Okay, I know what you're thinking: Top Secret's gold Supras are even more overexposed than Britney's hoo-hah. But this one was different. To begin with, the front end sports a unique set of headlights but, as with any of Smoky's creations, the secret ingredient lies beneath the golden hood. This Supra rocks a V-12, a twin-turbo V-12 no less, and it is Smoky's vision of what the next generation of this iconic Japanese supercar should be.
Once again Smoky was tired of waiting for Toyota to announce the plans for the new Supra so he did it himself. Ironically, Toyota unveiled its FT-HS concept around the same time as Top Secret's golden child halfway across the world at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Toyota's concept is a hint at what the automaker might offer as either a replacement for the Supra or a next-generation of the model. With a 400hp hybrid 3.5L V-6, it's safe to say that Toyota went in a slightly different direction than Top Secret's double boost V-12.
The only hybrid thing about the Top Secret Toyota is how Smoky successfully mated a V-12 to a Supra. Consider that this engine is the same length as the original 2JZ-GTE I-6 with an additional bank of six more cylinders set in a V formation. Now add two turbos with all of the necessary plumbing and you wonder how it all fits. But then, every Japanese person I meet wonders how my fat ass fits into a traditional JDM hotel room. Much like Smoky and this swap, somehow I just manage to squeeze it all in.
Even more impressive than the swap itself is where Smoky actually sourced his V-12 donor motor. The engine is normally found in the Toyota Century. The Century is a $90k home market luxury sedan and in factory guise the 5,000cc 1GZ-FE makes a mere 276hp. Smoky added a matched set of HKS GT2540 turbines along with one of his seductively shapely Top Secret custom intake plenums with twin 80mm throttle bodies. One concession to the reduced real estate within the engine bay is with the placement of the cooling system.
The ARC intercooler is angled into the front bumper to make room for the V-12 but this leaves no room for the ARC radiator-it's in the trunk along with a massive fuel cell (alas, Jonny's bike will never fit in there). Each quarter window gives up a fine piece of glass to make way for custom ducts leading to the radiator with twin puller fans sucking the remaining hot air out through a vent in the rear bumper. No doubt a custom bellhousing was required to mate the factory JZA80 Getrag six-speed gearbox to the massive 1GZ. An ORC clutch and Cusco 1.5 way LSD will help put down the projected power to the pavement once Smoky completes the build. That's right, this beast is under construction.