this is the Toyota CH-R it's a subcompact made to transport five people, get good
fuel economy and look pretty stylish too - question is, what happens if it were a
race car with 600 horsepower?
That's what we're here to find out today.
rather than just build a show car
Toyota and partner DG spec wanted to build a race car that actually works
that goal meant a thorough reengineering of the car from racing slicks, brakes and suspension to a
replacement of the stock engine and CVT with a more durable engine and 5-speed
manual transmission both built to withstand upwards of 600 horsepower.
The low front splitter and massive rear wing can create as much as 300 pounds of
downforce so much that the team had to add bracing to the lift gate so it
wouldn't warp under the load. The interiors been stripped down to bare
metal there's a roll cage but there are no front windows. As racing prepared as a
CHR may be there's only one in existence and we aren't the only people driving it
today, so there are some warnings to preserve the lifespan of the drivetrain
the engine wasn't making full power and we were told to shift delicately and
smoothly we couldn't go full throttle in first or second gear and there would be
someone supervising us from the passenger seat and talking to us on the
radio...and we'd only get one lap
it's like my 72 Chevy c10
so I just got out of the art tuned Toyota CHR and the thing that you don't
realize about driving a car like this is it's just sensory overload
the thing doesn't have windows it's really loud inside you've got somebody
talking into your ears through your radio and there's so much to take
in at once it's kind of weird driving position you're up a little higher but
the steering doesn't have a lot of feel but it's very quick and the car is
moving very fast you know we're down a lot less in terms of horsepower versus
the 600 horsepower they say it makes in like full race kill mode they have it a
lot lower because they have a lot of people like me cycling through and they
don't want to grenade the engine but still I'm comfortable with where
it's at for my first lap here at big Willow. There's a lot of tire on that car
and a lot of braking capability on that car so it's being confident enough to
approach those limits and learning how to approach them this is a car that has
downforce so you have to learn how to trust that and know what that feels like and
it's one of the situations we have to go fast or in order to stick harder to the
ground I'm not even approaching those limits yet
they're saying this thing can do you know upwards of 150 and to turn eight
here at big willow which is an absurd amount of speed and I wasn't even
anywhere near that because it's a unique driving experience versus a traditional
car one of the things if keep in mind is I'm shifting very gingerly because this
is essentially a stock transmission it's been treated in a couple ways to make it
stronger and more durable but the skier set is almost like what you get in a
standard Scion tC so with that my shifting is not
something you just bang the gear because that's how you break the transmission
and likewise with clutch use, you have to be very smooth because they're relying
on a lot of OE hardware that can't withstand nor was not designed to
withstand 600 horsepower and you know drivers like myself cycling through it
over and over and over again. Overall a really cool experience and I hope we get
to go back out again soon
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