Anyone who sits in a Toyota GT86, Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ or even behind the wheel of the “Mackin Industries 86 Pikes Peak”, must not be afraid. The fear comes at a different point.
Latest after the YouTube video above you know, why the fear is with you. The modern “Hachi-Roku” alias Toyota 86 alias Toyota GT86 alias Subaru BRZ alias Scion FR-S86 from Mackin Industries started at the “Race to the clouds”, the 100th edition of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
And in the eighties, a good friend was already participating, and had a great respect from the back then not-asphalted track. But let´s get back to Mackin Industries 86 Pikes Peak Special.
While the team in 2015 still competed with a 480-hp Scion FR-S at the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, they started in 2016 with a completely new built Toyota 86, this is how the GT86 is called in its home market and in many Asian countries.
This year, they went to the hill with more than 800 hp. The nearly bullet-proof Toyota 2JZGTE has proven for decades the potential in it and are outside of Germany, it is besides the “US-V8” engines, Nissan SR20DET, Nissan RB26DETT and Hondas B-, F-, J- and K-engines among the most used “heart donors” at the engine swap. Sidney Hoffmann was astonished when he peeked under the Seibon carbon fiber engine hood and he couldn´t get away from it. Who knows what are Sid´s plans now…
To get 800 stiff horsepower at the rear axle from an ex-Supra-six-pointer is actually a children’s play. Especially if like the Mackin Industries teams you can expand the displacement to 3,4 liters and flange a large Garret GTX4294R T4 Turbo. The engine already has a brachial torque in the speed cell and the acceleration is the pure madness. In conjunction with an OS Giken differential with a 4.785:1 ratio and 1.5 lock and the sequential Samsonas six-speed transmission, you need very strong nerves.
As you can see right away, the “86” wears a Rocket Bunny widebody kit, which has been extended with an extensive APR Performance Aerodynamic dress and Seibon body parts.
The hill climb car equipped with a KW Competition 3A racing suspension kit has all around Yokohama Advan Racing GT rims with Yokohama slicks and a Project Mu racing brake system. There is no ABS or a traction control. According to the “striker” Robert Walker, he has a better feeling when braking without the whole “modern stuff”.
Only a few things of the interior remind of the standard equipment, but now there is plenty of racing in the cockpit. Even the fine programmable digital MoTec speedometer to the retrofitted MoTec engine control unit is a big thing. Besides Sparco full shells and Sparco Volant, also an specially manufactured cage from Evasive Motorsports came on board, where also the entire conversion was carried out.
But let’s listen to Philip Chase, the Team manager of the Mackin 86 Pikes Peak Special.