Fredric Aasbø kjører drifting med en Toyota Supra i både USA og Norge. Her kan du lese mer om den norske bilen.
The world may be in a state of disarray this year, but that didn’t stop Fredric Aasbø and his crew in Norway from completing their brand new 2020 Toyota GR Supra pro drift car build. The first photos were dropped in social media last week, to much praise from the drift community. Fredric explains:
– I really owe the debut of this new build to my fantastic crew back home, who’ve really gone above and beyond with their efforts. Add to that all the support from partners around the world, and I feel like the luckiest guy alive! As a lifetime Supra fan I feel like it’s all coming full circle this season – with not just one, but two new A90 Supra drift cars!
– We’re celebrating ten years with Toyota of Norway this year, and debuting this new, top level drift car is the best celebration I can think of.
The Euro GR Supra sports the tried and tested 2JZ engine platform
Fredric has spent a lot of time in the US this year, partly due to travel restrictions, but mostly to prepare for the 2020 Formula Drift championship.
Papadakis Racing built the US based Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota GR Supra over the offseason, and on September 5th, the team constellation went on to take a historical win at the rescheduled round 1 in St. Louis.
The North American Formula Drift GR Supra runs a similar suspension setup to the European car, using Wisefab and RS-R Suspension components.
– That win means we’ve already proven the performance of the new chassis. But there’s still so much to learn, develop, test and practice, and this is where having two relatively similar cars on two continents can be a big advantage. We are learning that every track requires a unique setup and each second of seat time in either car will help our progress, Fredric says.
The biggest difference between the two cars is the engine platform. While the US car uses a modified factory installed B58 turbo motor, Fredric and his team have opted for the tried and tested 2JZ platform for the European car.
– I think that eventually, the B58 platform will prove to be the engine of choice for drifting, namely because of its low weight. But until the new engine is fully developed in the US, we’ve decided to stick to our safe bets for now – if you could ever call a thousand horsepower race engine «safe», Fredric laughs.
The new VTS Solutions and Jonus Racing built 2JZ-GTE VVTi engine was just dynoed to a whopping 1036 horsepower and 1225 of newton meters of torque to the hubs.
– Those are great numbers, but I care much more about the drivability and overall powerband than peak numbers. I think our old car, the 86-X, had one of the best engine setups out there, and this time, we’ve been able to push our limits even further. I’m very excited to test the car!
So, where and when can we watch this new Supra on track?
– Well, in the past we’ve taken our drift cars anywhere from the snowy forests of Santa’s Village in Finland, to secret test tracks in the UK for a special project that was filmed by a satellite, to all-out drifting up the Troll Wall and on the plains of the North Cape. All of this in addition to competing at the Gatebil festivals and doing road shows, of course.
There are plenty of opportunities, but I don’t know exactly what the future will bring. The car is built to European Driftmasters and Russian RDS regulations… But for now, we are planning to enjoy this build with our Toyota Norway family and dial it in to accomplish our goal of having one of Europe’s fastest drift cars, Fredric concludes.