When someone decides to engine swap a Polaris Slingshot, you can count on the final product being a bit…extra. Scott Riley achieved absurdity and then some when he built this 2JZ-powered Slingshot for a charity raffle, giving the world what is possibly the most powerful three-wheeler of its kind.
Riley considered an LS V8 for the swap, because everything’s better with an LS, but he ultimately “settled” for the Toyota-sourced 2JZ inline-six because it bolts right up to the Slingshot’s existing transmission. The naturally aspirated engine came from a Lexus IS300 that had 200,000 miles, so it took some love to restore and upgrade the aging power plant. Riley and his father installed Eagle rods, new pistons, new valve springs, a BorgWarner turbocharger, and an upgraded ECU. The Slingshot’s five-speed manual transmission was upgraded with a stage two clutch and lightened flywheel, but was otherwise left in place.
The result of all that work is a power-crazed trike with over 400 horsepower at the rear wheel. If driving an open-top three-wheeler with that much power isn’t terrifying enough, there are plans to bump output even further to more than 500 horsepower.
Those numbers are leagues away from a stock Slingshot, which gets a 173-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the factory. Though it doesn’t sound like a lot of power, it’s enough to push the Slingshot from zero to 60 miles per hour in well under six seconds. We’re guessing that Riley’s current build makes the run much faster than that, so it’ll be fun to watch how big he can actually go with the Slingshot’s drivetrain.
h/t: Road and Track
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