Update: This car burned to ashes in the garage of my beach house in Malibu during the California Palisades Fire of 2025, where over 10,000 homes were destroyed. In true car guy fashion, I cared more about this car than just about anything else (including my house). One of the most devastating things I have ever been through. My fully carbon + magnesium F1 car was next to it which likely burned exceeding temperatures of 5,500°F leaving nothing but ash. I have actual videos from a garage camera of the cars melting and evaporating that I shared with insurance (not that they paid for anything in the end), but I don't wish to share or ever look at those again. For anyone who has seen magnesium burn, it looks like watching thermite.
Video of the fire burning my house down: https://vimeo.com/1046588294?share=copy
Story of the house burning down: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vShARPp0gkrg6vE6T7C7YV650UR_7MMTYQj7mm-Un4Eyq__kysAZDa2FaRtX96vtdpCXCi8qvy580hN/pub
The 1,100+HP 2018 McLaren 720s has been heavily modified to be lighter and more powerful. Nicknamed the "Toyota Hilux," this 720s ironically earned its reputation as the most reliable and longest I've owned a car. I won't ever be selling it.
-N.O.S Purge (above)-
The Toyota Hilux (720s) started as a McLaren 720s which I converted into an ultra-lightweight (2,700lbs dry) FIA-certified road-legal race car with automated fire suppression, a 6-point race harness, and a roll bar. While many cars can achieve over 1,100HP these days at a drag strip, this 720s has over 80,000 miles and has been heavily abused at the track circuit racing nearly every other weekend. When not at home, it lives at redline on Big Willow (Willow Springs Raceway). It doesn't overheat, and it gets me to and from the track each time, sometimes 6+-hour drives each way.
The Hilux did a 1.8 second 0-60MPH (1 foot rollout on a prepped drag strip surface) and a quarter mile in the 8s on street tires (Toyo R888Rs). It also has done a 1:18 on Big Willow (Willow Springs Raceway) on street tires (Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R).
This stock engine with stock turbos has an added second brushless fuel pump installed, hi-flow cats, race intercoolers, aftermarket AP Racing breaks, a valved army tricks exhaust to keep from annoying the neighbors and a dyno tune performed every 2 years by m-engineering.
After years of on-track test & tune days, the car has been lowered (still has electric nose lift), camber shims have been added to dial in the perfect race alignment and custom bespoke offset wheels have been developed for the car.
A power to weight ratio of 898hp/metric ton (half that of the F1 "Formula Ian"), this is the lightest 720s I know of, weighing only 2700lbs this car did a 1.8 second 0-60MPH (1 foot rollout on a prepped drag strip surface) and a quarter mile in the 8s on street tires (Toyo R888Rs). It also has done a 1:18 on Big Willow (Willow Springs Raceway) on street tires (Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3R) with a pro driving on his first and only try (I usually lap at 1:23 after years of practice on that circuit). That makes it the quickest "road car" to ever be on that track but the road car category refuses to accept the Hilux as one of it's own. It also spends a lot of time on 18” all around “Pirelli Ferrari Challenge DH Slicks”, a tire I get imported from Europe, and is hands down the best tire for this car but I have not run those since getting a friendly warning or two from the CHP. The change to the Overall Diameters also upsets the Bosch unit so I typically have to run those tires without ABS, traction control, and stability control which is beyond the limit of my driving skill level, leading to slower lap times.
The Hilux spends most of its life in a map track tuned for VP HP 101 (the fuel I have in my garage & what is offered at the pump on Willow Springs Raceway) outputting about 960whp. It has a map built from a dyno tune on a 50/50 blend of E98 and C16 for drag racing which produces over 1,100WHP. It also has a map that safely achieves 800whp for emergencies on pump gas (ACN91) but it is hardly ever used.
Other than having to replace the cam phasers & accumulators (once), monthly oil & brake disk (rotor) changes, lubricating the valves in the exhaust every few months, and weekly break pad & tire changes. The engine & drivetrain has been as reliable as a race car can get. I am also conscious of the logs in my AiM data logger looking for any potential issues.
To make the car lighter, nearly all non-structural materials have been removed over time (pictures below) aside from the outer body, leaving the engine directly exposed to the main cabin. The seats have been replaced with lighter McLaren Senna Seats and all interior behind the seats all removed. The fender liner & wheel wells were pulled out to support larger tires. I 3D scanned the brake assembly and had Finspeed forge bespoke custom offset wheels to help fit much wider tires & 295 mm tires in the front and 335mm tires in the rear. A roll bar has been fitted for the 6-point FIA harness. Fire suppression, NOS to keep things cold, and more.
As I have the F1 car (Formula Ian) for hardcore track use, this car is designed to be a race car that could be used as a comfortable daily driver along with a passenger. I’ve driven 2,000HP twin turbo Lambos and nearly every supercar/hypercar released 2018-2024 and I have yet to see or drive anything that I think would be quicker around a track or more comfortable. The industry seems to moving towards heavy non-race-focused hybrids.
I have no interest in E85 as the 720s is already out of fuel in just 11 minutes on track with VP101. E85 would cut that time on track in half given it’s poor fuel economy. I am also not a fan of what E85 does to engine internals over time. I will likely do water-meth injection in time for my next dyno tune.
The next major steps for the Toyota Hilux (720s) would be a fully built CSO engine + supporting mods (pure1300 turbos, id1050 injectors, DSS upgraded axles, and Dodson clutch). All to get just 1,300HP on a 50/50 blend of E98 and C16 (leaded) which is a fuel I would never run outside of a dyno anyway. The car also seems at it’s limit at 1,100HP in terms of heat soak and temps on track even with my aftermarket intercooler upgrades etc... I feel this platform is already as dialed in as it can get, and I can't fit wider tires without rubbing the carbon tub.
Pushing the engine further is not worth it to me given how much I care about this car. This car has been across the U.S at Lime Rock Park, Thunderbolt & Lightning Raceway, Watkins Glen, Buttonwillow Raceway, and Willow Springs Raceway. It has been driven for hours in heavy snow, heavy rain, dirt roads, and always managed to get me home comfortably along with passenger in a comfortable climate controlled cabin. Truly the ultimate driving machine.
