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Advancing to Attack: The Tale of the ADRO Inc Toyota Supra

By , March 11, 20262 Comments7 min read

I don’t know about you, but there’s something about time attack that really gets me going. This rings especially true when it’s an event at Tsukuba Circuit, which, in my eyes, is – for its insignificance in the grand scheme of global motorsport – the spiritual home of time attack.

Sure, you can argue about Berg Cup hillclimbs in the deepest, darkest German forest or even the timing aspect of drag racing over the past 100+ years, but the art of chasing lap times is woven into the 1.27-mile Japanese circuit above all others. When I think of time attack, I think of Tsukuba, and when I think of Tsukuba, I think of time attack.

On top of that, when I think of Attack Tsukuba – which Alec was fortunate enough to cover the other week – I think of the most outrageous, lightweight, big-power, and bewinged race cars. I’m talking about Scorch Racing and Escort gunning for records in ground-up-built Nissan Silvias and Mitsubishi Lancer Evos.
Yet, it wasn’t the typical build that attracted our attention this year, but an altogether more subtle car from our friends over at ADRO Inc: an A90 Toyota GR Supra. Or at least, it seems subtle, but I’ll get to that shortly.
If you’re a BMW enthusiast, as I am, you’ll know ADRO as the brand that treated the G8X M2, M3, and M4 to a nose job through their V1 and V2 body kits.
“It’s true, ADRO became well known through our BMW products, but we actually started expanding into other brands quite a while ago,” says Corey Park, head honcho of the Korean brand’s daily operations. “Making fast cars even faster is something we’ve always wanted to do. So expanding into platforms like Porsche and Toyota’s GR lineup felt very natural for us.”
The mechanical similarities between the GR Supra and G-chassis BMWs are well-documented at this point, but beyond that, there’s an aesthetic similarity too. It’s not that they look the same… they both feature questionable front-end designs.
Corey and the team saw the opportunity. “We decided that the Supra’s design had potential, that we could probably make it look lower and wider with the right approach.” That’s when V1 of the build came to fruition, which Alec and Dino had the chance to check out.
With its enormous, curvaceous bolt-on arches, you’ll notice more than a passing resemblance to the Toyota FT-1 concept car, but with a far less divisive front-end treatment. The eagle-eyed among you might notice that at this point, the Supra was still fitted with air suspension; however, this has since been replaced by MOTON three-way adjustable coilovers for track duty.
But why take a shop demonstrator build and turn it into a time attack racer? Well, in Corey’s own words, “Most of us at ADRO are track day enthusiasts, and the Supra is basically a gift to ourselves. We reached a point with the brand where we could finally start doing something ‘official’ that everyone had wanted to do for a long time.”

To ensure the team’s track toy could withstand repeated laps at full chat, some light upgrades were fitted alongside the aggressive body kit. The drivetrain remains standard, except for an XHP map on the ZF 8-speed gearbox and an engine tune for the B58, now pushing 430hp at the wheels.

Under the bonnet, you’re greeted by a CSF Race chargecooler manifold, while CSF radiators and an oil cooler are visible behind the ADRO bumper’s enormous intakes. An intake kit and free-flowing exhaust take care of breathing. The RAYS Volk Racing TE37 were swapped for a set of 18×11-inch Volk Racing 21C wheels, again wrapped in 295/30R18 Yokohama Advan A050 tyres.

This may not seem like much, especially compared to the other cars at Attack, but that’s exactly why the ADRO Supra stood out so much. “We got a lot of attention throughout the weekend,” says Corey. “At Attack Tsukuba, it’s normal to see cars running huge, custom aero parts that were built specifically for their own machines, so in that environment, the Supra didn’t actually look that extreme. But a lot of teams and spectators were curious about our body kit, and we ended up having many great conversations with people over the weekend.”

See, it may look relatively subtle, but some serious engineering goes into ADRO’s body kits, courtesy of their chief designer Scott Beeton, a former Williams F1 aerodynamicist. Yes, for anyone doubting the aero credentials of the Supra, some serious engineering has gone into its creation.
Corey was kind enough to share the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data for the ADRO body kit, which reveals that the Toyota is now producing over 270kg of downforce at around 110mph (177km/h). This comes with a modest drag increase, but at a circuit like Tsukuba, where high speeds are maintained, and top speed is largely irrelevant, that’s a net-positive result.
“Our goal was to break into the 58-second range. During Friday practice in overcast, cool conditions, we managed a 59.2-second lap, so we felt it was definitely possible. Saturday, the day of the main event, was a different story. The sun came out, and the ambient temperature reached about 17°C (62.6°F). We knew meaningful lap times would likely come only in the morning session, so the team was pretty tense from early on.”
Then, the real problems came. After another competitor crashed on his opening lap and another car sprang a high-pressure oil leak around the track, the ADRO team faced a slippery track, covered in sand. “It was impressive to see how professionally everything was handled and how smoothly Attack still ran,” Corey recalls. “Proper respect for the officials!”
“We still managed to record a 59.4-second lap on Saturday, and we were glad the car was able to deliver a consistent time. It would be a lie to say we had no regrets, but the team atmosphere was still great at the end of the day.”
Corey is adamant that this is just the start of ADRO’s racing involvement, and aside from fitting some more powerful brakes on the Supra, he’s looking at expanding globally with a second race project in the form of a BMW M2. There might even be a Porsche on the cards.
We’ll be keeping an eye on ADRO Inc’s competition escapades as they develop. In my eyes, there is something refreshing about a well-established company bringing such a grassroots vibe to the playing field. Work hard, play hard – and maybe get some podiums in the process.

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