HKS took the Tsukuba lap record crown from Under Suzuko’s Scorch Racing Nissan S15 with a dominating sub 50-second run.

Update: Video of run added!

HKS didn’t simply take the Tsukuba lap record from Under Suzuki, they snatched it off the crown off their head furiously by breaking their lap record by a whopping 1.6 seconds, an eternity at Tsukuba. According to HKS on their social media earlier today (Feb 15, 2018) HKS’s TRB-03 piloted by Super GT driver Nob Taniguchi achieved a sub 50 second run of 49.445 seconds handily taking the track record for a tuned car and fulfilling the last wish of its president Hiroyuki Hasegawa, who approved the challenge to be completed under his watch. Check out the announcement from HKS and its driver Nob thanks to twitter below!

HKS has been constantly developing its Toyota 86 based time attack monster dubbed the GTS800. The 800 obviously refers to how much power this 86 makes, 800 HP. But according to Nob’s blog I posted above, it looks like HKS turned up the wick to the tune of 900 HP for this run. Noteworthy is the fact that underneath the hood is the same engine found in any FRS/86/BRZ, an FA20. This one’s been stroked to 2.5 liters, fitted with a massive supercharger an intercooler and positioned so far back to not only accommodate said intercooler but to better balance the car on the track.

It’s no secret that you’ve got to have bonkers aero to make a mark on this track and the TRB-03 is no different. The massive rear spoiler alone makes up to three tons of downforce to the rear wheels. SpeedHunters did a great piece going more in depth on what goes into their aero.

It looks like HKS went through multiple engines as Nob mentions that thanks to breaking so many parts, stronger parts could come out of its development.

I went to Tsukuba many times over and over,
We have engines over and over again and again,
Remove the aero again and again …
No longer the world of the dreams “many times”.

It should be noted that Nob is the resident master of Tsukuba and seems to be the driver of choice when aftermarket company’s want to prove what they’re made of. Before Under Suzuki and the Scorch Racing S15 had the track record, Top Fuel’s S2000 did. Top Fuel and Nob were also trying their best to break Under Suzuki’s record but couldn’t quite do it with a best run of 51.762 second run almost two years ago. I’ve posted that attempt below just to give you an idea of how fast this GTS800 must’ve been going.

For this particular record, it looks like Nob gives a lot of credit to the Yokohama Advan A050 S tires he was running. With a softer compound presumably Nob was able to lay more power down consistently.

And it’s far from over for HKS as after Nob expressed his congratulations he does mention, “It is not over yet!”

Congratulations to HKS on such a monumental feat. I can’t wait to see what the video looks like!

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