[Source: Craig Lieberman] 

Immediately upon acquisition, the car underwent a host of modifications in the interest of using the car for advertising and promotion. Companies such as GReddy, Eibach, Stillen, Clarion and NOS were all participants in this project. The first round of modifications included new candy yellow paint, 18” wheels/tires, a mild sound system upgrade and some body kit components, plus engine detailing. The car then toured the show circuit, doing quite well. At least 6 major magazine features were done on the car. Over that winter, the car underwent its’ next round of modifications. The Supra was treated to a custom spec T-66 turbo done by Vinny Ten, owner of the world’s fastest Supra. Nitrous Oxide Systems installed a custom NOS system, GReddy installed some of their trick components and Stillen installed their Formula 1 AP Racing brakes. Custom interior touches were added as well as a new audio/video system comprised of three TV monitors, a VCR, a DVD, Playstation and custom neon glasswork, courtesy of Audio Options. The engine was completely detailed, chromed and polished. All of the performance modifications received inspection and final tuning by a Toyota-engineer specializing in Supra Turbo engines and performance applications. The car then competed in the First Annual “Ultimate Street Car Challenge,” a grueling drag race, auto cross and car show, all in one weekend. The car took 1st Place Overall. The car also began to tour the show circuit for the balance of 1999. Its’ crowning achievement was the receipt of the prestigious “Meguiar’s Hottest Car of the Year” award in 1999. The car also won Best of Show in numerous events around the country, scored several first place finishes and has even received features on KABC and KTLA local news broadcasts. But the best was yet to come.

In the Spring of 2000, the car was spotted by recruiters for Universal Pictures and was selected to be the primary car for the upcoming blockbuster, “The Fast and The Furious.” Universal rented the car and began to alter its’ appearance to for an even more aggressive look. Lamborghini orange paint was applied (the only car in the movie to receive an actual high-quality paint job), as was a new Bomex body kit (the first of its’ kind, imported from Japan). New 19” wheels were added, as well as a new rear wing, a new TRD hood and some one-off Troy Lee graphics. The studio then set out to build 5 cosmetic replicas, shown in various stages of completion, all designed to replicate this original. All replicas were destroyed during the filming of the movie. This Supra is the primary car in the movie….the movie features the car extensively. This particular car was driven by one of the stars, Paul Walker and was used for all the glamour and close-up shots. Stunt replicas were used for all the abusive driving. Upon completion of the motion picture, the car was returned to the owner with no damage, having been carefully protected by the film’s Transportation Managers. Numerous 8” x 10” photos were provided to the owner showing the car in action during the movie, as was a host of other souvenirs. The owner also served as Technical Advisor on the picture and provided dialog assistance for the script.

The car then appeared at the Hollywood Premier in June of 2001 where a stage was built for the car at the Press Junkets which ran about the same time. The car has appeared in over 200 US newspapers and more than 500 foreign newspapers and dozens of domestic and international publications. International release was scheduled for September of 2001. In the interim, the car is touring the show circuit on behalf of Universal Pictures to promote the movie. As of this writing, more than 20 magazines on three continents have shot the car with 6 covers to its’ credit. The car has been carefully prepared, serviced and maintained throughout the last two years and while making its’ show appearances. It is sure to be a collector’s item, with its’ value placed at over $150,000. The car currently is actually driven and it has almost 60,000 miles on it and still retains the A/C, tilt, cruise and full amenities. It has always been garaged, is hand polished weekly and is totally reliable. It is never raced or abused. Careful attention was paid to every detail so as to ensure the utmost reliability.

VALUE: ENGINE/PERFORMANCE:

• $7200 Turbonetics T-66 ball bearing turbo, Q-trim compressor, built by Performance Factory
  
• $550 Turbonetics Delta II Wastegate
  
• $1800 RPS Stainless steel/HTC coated custom header
  
• $1275 100 HP Nitrous Oxide System, by NOS
  
• $350 AEBS Turbo Downpipe
  
• $1590 Greddy front mount intercooler
  
• $795 Greddy Power Extreme exhaust system
  
• $450 Greddy Pro-Fec B Boost Controller
  
• $320 Greddy Power Pulleys
  
• $795 Greddy Oil Cooler Kit
  
• $350 Greddy Turbo Timer
  
• $520 Greddy Boost, EGT, Oil Pressure and Water Temp gauges
  
• $300 Greddy Airinx Intake
  
• $400 Greddy steering wheel-mounted boost remote control device
  
• $390 Greddy Cam Gears
  
• $425 APEXi Blowoff valve
  
• $1100 HKS Vein Pressure Converter
  
• $550 HKS Graphic Control Computer
  
• $440 HKS Injector Pulse Monitor
  
• $1110 G-Force Engineering Racing ROM
  
• $150 Hose Techniques Silicone hose kit
  
• $650 Clutchmasters Stage III Racing Clutch
  
• $500 Clutchmasters 11 lb. Billet Flywheel
  
• $350 Powerhouse Racing ported/polished throttle body (traction control delete)
  
• $2100 Powerhouse Racing cylinder head work (port/polish)
  
• $750 Fluidyne aluminum radiator
  
• $350 Flex-a-Lite dual electric fan kit
  
• $3500 Chrome-plated valve cover, intake manifold, throttle body, turbocharger, turbo heat shield, auxiliary heat shield, fuse cover, relay cover, cruise control cover, ignition module cover and all brackets
  

STYLING:

• $6200 Lamborghini Diablo Candy Pearl Orange Paint, by Quigley’s in Lake Forest, Ca.
  
• $1100 Bomex Front spoiler
  
• $950 Bomex side/rear skirts
  
• $1900 TRD Composite Hood
  
• $250 1997 front turn signal updates
  
• $1100 1997 headlight updates
  
• $250 Underhood neon lighting system
  
• $1100 HID Xenon gas headlight conversion
  
• $550 APR Aluminum bi-plane rear wing
  
• $1200 Custom Troy Lee Graphics by Modern Image 714 375 0591
  

TIRES:

• $2200 Yokohama AVS S1 285/30 and 255/35/19 (nineteen’s!!)
  

WHEELS:

• $4100 Dazz/Racing Hart M5 Tuners, 19 incher’s
  

BRAKES:

• $3900 Stillen/AP Racing 14” front racing brakes, 6 piston caliper, w/slotted/drilled rotors
  

TRANSMISSION:

• $6200 Gertrag Six-Speed gearbox with Stillway sequential adapter

SUSPENSION:

• $1400 Bilstein/Eibach coil-over suspension
  
• $1100 Stillen sway bars
  
• $450 Cusco Front strut tower bar
  
• $500 Energy Suspension urethane bushings all around
  

INTERIOR:

• $850 Stitchcraft Viper blue suede upholstery
  
• $1000 Brand NEW!! Sparco “Pista” Racing seats (15lbs.), custom matching fabric w/harness holes
  
• $300 Carbon-fiber dashtrim by Trimmasters
  
• $250 Auto Meter 5” Monster Tach
  
• $150 Auto Meter “NOS ON” and “LOW OIL” warning lights
  
• $150 G-Tech Pro Accelerometer
  
• $1500 MFS Custom built roll cage, chromed
  
• $350 Sparco Steering Wheel
  
• $400 Sparco Harnesses
  

IN CAR ELECTRONICS:

• $1900 Clarion VRX8271 in dash TV/CD Changer controller, remote controlled
  
• $650 Clarion VMA6481 6” wide screen 2nd TV monitor in passenger airbag
  
• $650 Clarion VMA9181 5.5” 3rd TV monitor in trunk area
  
• $550 Clarion DSP9300 Digital Sound Processor, parametric EQ/Surround sound
  
• $450 Clarion CDC 635 CD Changer
  
• $400 Clarion SRS 1691 6 ½” separates
  
• $450 Image Dynamics 6” separates
  
• $500 2 Image Dynamics 12” woofers
  
• $1500 2 Phaze Audio TD1500 Tube Driver amplifiers
  
• $1500 1 Phaze Audio TD475 Tube Driver amplifier
  
• $150 Sony Playstation 1
  
• $500 Sony Playstation 2/DVD
  
• $700 Custom built electric-blue neon tubes for sound system back-lighting
  
• $1100 Minolta 6450 VHS-C Camcorder
  
• $8000 System design and fabrication by: Audio Options, Torrance, Ca 310-763-6008
  

PERFORMANCE STATS:

• 544 Horsepower @ 6,800 rpms
  
• Maximum engine speed = 7,770 rpms
  
• 0-60 in 4.3 seconds
  
• 0-100 in 9.2 seconds
  
• ¼ mile in 12.2 seconds at 115 mph
  
• Top speed = 185 mph
  
• Skidpad =.98 g’s
  
• Slalom time = 65 mph
  
• Curb weight = 3,601 lbs.

SPECIAL AWARDS:

• Greddy Special Recognition Award, April 2000
  
• 1st Place, Best of Show Grand Prize Winner, Meguiar’s Hottest Car in California, Feb 1999
  
• 1st Place, Best of Show Overall, Import Showoff, April 1999
  
• 1st Place, Japanese Exotic, NOPI Nationals, Sept 1999
  
• 1st Place, Ultimate Street Car Competition (Car Show, Auto X and Drag Race), April 2000
  
• 1st Place, Best Toyota, Import O Rama, August 1999
  
• 1st Place, Best Toyota, BF Goodrich Import Nationals, April 2000
  
• 2nd Place, 2 Door Wild, Hot Import Nights, June 1999
  
• 2nd Place, Japanese Exotic, Import Showoff, May 1999
  
• 2nd Place Overall, EXC Class, Import Showoff EXC, April 2000
  
• 2nd Place Overall. EXC Class, Import Showoff EXC, Dec 2000
  
• 3rd Place Overall, EXC Class, Import Showoff EXC, May 1999
  

• As featured in: The Fast and the Furious (aka Redline), the movie. Star’s car, main car in movieØ Channel 2 News, KCBS, LA Auto Show coverage, January 7, 2001
  
• Channel 7 News, KABC LA Auto Show coverage, January 7, 2001
  
• SEMA News, October 1998
  
• Turbo, March 1999
  
• Turbo, August 1999
  
• Super Street, Jan 1999
  
• OpGezet, May 1999
  
• Street Legal Imports, Volume 1, Issue 02
  
• MAXSpeed, March 1999
  
• MAXSpeed, August 1999
  
• Super Street Poster, December 1999
  
• Performance Auto Sound, July 1999
  
• MAXPower, February 2000
  
• Cover car, www.vehiclelighting.com
  
• Feature car, www.autobuzzz.com
  
• Feature car, www.overboost.com
  
• Channel 5 News, KTLA, Feb 21, 1999
  
• Channel 7 News, ABC, Feb 21, 1999
  
• Super Street, June 2000
  
• MAXPower UK, August 2000
  
• Hose Techniques ad car, 2000 issues of Super Street, Turbo, MAXPower
  
• MAXPower US, June 2000
  
• KTLA Channel 5 Awards Ceremony, Feb 8, 2001
  
• Overboost.com feature, January, 2001
  
• SEMA Int’l Auto Salon, Feb 10-11, 2001Ø Universal Press Junket, June 2001
  
• Redline Magazine, UK, June 2001
  
• Import Racer, June, 2001
  
• SDStreetRacing.com Video feature, April 2001
  
• MAXPower UK, July 2001
  
• Bomex ads, starting June 2001
  
• Auto Max Magazine, Spain, June 2001
  
• MAX GT Magazine, France, June 2001
  
• R-Toyz.com feature, April 2001
  
• ESPN2 coverage from NIRA, April 2001
  
• OpGezet, Belgium, June 2001
  
• Option Magazine, France, July 2001
  
• Redline Magazine, UK, August 2001
  
• MAXPower UK, Cover, August, 2001
  
• LA Performance & Style, Japan, August, 2001
  
• Fast & Furious movie posters
  
• Fast & Furious lapel buttons
  
• Fast & Furious calendars
  
• Fast & Furious mini-posters
  
• LA Times feature, June 5th, 2001
  
• Hot Compact Cars & Imports Magazine, August 2001
  
• Cover and 4 page spread of Super Street Magazine, June 2001
  
• Attended the Hollywood Movie Premier of “The Fast and The Furious”, June 18, 2001 Ø Featured on more than 100 local and national news broadcasts between June 22 and present.
  
• Dateline NBC July 8, 2001