This 680bhp Lexus GS Is A Four-Door 2JZ Hero

It’s been too long since we featured a madly-tuned 2JZ engine on these pages, but we’d like to remedy that with this: a Lexus GS 300 from 2003.

My dad has one, but I can tell you this: his does not have 680bhp courtesy of a Borg Warner turbo and upgraded cams, valvetrain and fuel system. As standard the straight-six had 216bhp of ridiculously smooth fizz, but the list of mods on this humble GS is impressive in its own right.

The fuel system, front-mounted intercooler and turbo plumbing are all custom-built, as is the wiring harness to keep everything neat. It rides on Tein Flex coilovers and has four-piston Brembo brakes at the front, with two-piston calipers from an LS 460 at the back.

Said to be running in absolutely perfect order, this Japanese boost-fest can run on E85 and US-spec 93-octane fuel. It’s a five-speed manual, too. Tuned for a lumpy idle and smoothness at speed, the builder and seller DRAGint wanted it to be as close to a modified Supra as possible, but with four doors and an opulent leather interior.

Speaking of the seats, this GS is an uncommon Sport Design model only built in 2003 with this ‘saddle brown’ leather interior. We reckon it looks fantastic against the chequered floor mats and old-school dashboard.

The price for this interesting little alternative is $29,000 on US eBay. A turbo, manual Supra is also there for an asking price of $65,000 with some modifications of its own. The GS looks like solid value, except for the fact that it probably won’t stay expensive, like the Supra. Ah well, it looks like a hell of a lot of fun, anyway.