Like the smell of KFC cuts through the air – the 6 cylinder FWD naturally aspirated list is reverberating through South Africa.
This time, a challenger rises from the Mother City and his weapon of choice? A Toyota.
Cape Town racer Shaheen Amlay has built a car worthy of challenging VW’s R32 engine for dominance.
As of now, he’s a shining light for Toyota fans across the country – who want to see their favourite brand go on top.
Amlay, who owns MSA Automotive in Cape Town, fitted Toyota 2GR engine into Conquest “Ugly Duckling” spec.
It’s a fairly new build that’s only graced the race track twice – but in those few instances, showed great potential.
And it maybe the only challenger to VW’s 6 pot dominance in the front wheel drive drag scene.
The numbers
On its first outing since the conversion, Amlay took the car to Killarney. He enjoyed a good few runs out on normal 95 octane.
Surpringly, the car ran a best time of 11.89 seconds @188km/h. A time, however, that was not back up but served as a window to its true potential.
Without a LSD installed, Amlay still managed to get a 60ft time of 1.7 seconds.
On its second outing at Killarney, Amlay ran a best time of 12.2 seconds with some clutch problems.
Between the first and second event, he had installed a few upgrades including a LSD and opted for full slicks and a 30% ethanol fuel mix.
“The clutch was slipping during this recent event. We could only manage the 12.2.
“It’s still a full street car though, so there’s been no stripping or cutting,” Amlay told Auto Rush.
What’s in it
The Toyota 2GR Motor is a 3.5L DOHC V6 engine with VVT-i. It puts out between 225-235kw and weighs just over 160KG.
It’s an engine that comes fitted in the Lexus IS or GS models here in South Africa.
Amlay’s fitted a S54 gearbox in along with the LSD. He’s added new throttles, cold air branches and a new exhaust system.
Wessel Oosthuizen of Dynamic Motorsport tunes the Sustech ECU at the brain of this Conquest.
