Oh, my. Things are happening to my brain.
Good things, we suspect. Welcome, one and all, back to Japan—a land filled with amazing cars and amazing people who tune cars. And this one’s Amazing. Cap A.
It is, in short, a classic Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC (rolling alongside a rather lovely 190E, we might add, because fwiends), decked out with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine from an MkIV Toyota Supra. That’s the fabled 2JZ engine. Made famous by some film, we can’t remember the name.
Wait—I get to say ‘overnight parts from Japan’!
Yes. Although seeing as this one’s based in Japan, it kind of doesn’t make sense. In any case, there are parts.
The straight-six has been treated to a single-turbo setup, together with a new Motec ECU, and a four-speed Toyota gearbox sending drive to the rear wheels.
Has it got a lot of power?
It’s got 450hp, roughly, so yes. Yes, it has.
Can it handle all that power?
No idea, we didn’t drive it. But we’re told the car rides on Bilstein dampers, so...yeah, it probably does. Look, handling isn’t the most important thing about a car like this.
What is?
The fact that it looks fanastic. And has a wonderful engine underneath. And is really very cool.
What are those wheels all about?
They’re 17-inch diamond-cut alloys that mimic AMG’s classic five-spoke wheel. Shiny. Shiny things make everything better.
The inside looks very clean.
And very original, too. Barring that weird AMG steering wheel, of course. Other than that, lovely.
Can we just...I mean...isn’t it sacrilege to modify a classic Mercedes like this?
Take your cynicism and ‘reason’ and please leave now.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
