Cape Town drag racer Jode Cupido has taken it up a notch when it comes to naturally aspirated VVL’s in South Africa.
Cupido ran a new personal best of 10.59 seconds @209 km/h at Killarney Raceway on Saturday.
This keeps him at number the one spot on the fastest naturally aspirated SR20 cars in the country.
Moving up the list
Prior to breaking into the 10 second club, the number 1 spot was held by Cape Town dragster Saud Bassa. Bassa’s SR20 Golf 1 ran a 10.9 second quarter mile and held the number 1 spot for a long period.
Lucky Tladi of Pretoria also made waves when he ran an 11.3 second quarter mile at Dezzi Raceway in KZN in August 2024. Tladi and team Murbros have been knocking on the 10’s door since.
But Cupido was adamant on moving up the list and rallied together a world class team. JVS Tuning, Dev Spec, Shaun Zurich and Cupido’s friend Jaimie were some of the influential figures in the build.
‘The right men for the job’
Pretoria engineering guru Martin Bruwer built the SR20VE for Cupido. Jody van Schoor of JVS tuned put his magic fingers to work on the AMG-green Langley.
Cupido broke Bassa’s long time 10.9 second record, posting a 10.7 second quarter mile time last year.
This past weekend, he bettered himself twice and backed up the times like a seasoned vet.
The 31-year-old managed to get four runs at Killarney, with the clutch giving way on the 4th.
His three runs clocked in at : 10.8 seconds @208 km/h; 10.6 seconds @210 km/h and 10.59@ 209km/h.
Cupido now has his sights set on Dezzi Raceway in KwaZulu-Natal. A full-prep showdown is set to take place on March 1, with drivers coming from around the country.
He hopes to achieve a lower 10-second time at Dezzi Raceway next month.
KZN is home to some of the country’s fastest naturally aspirated cars, mainly because of the oxygen enriched atmosphere the east coast provides.
Naturally aspirated cars are able to achieve higher power outputs and faster times in KZN, even more so than Cape Town, which is less humid.
