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DragQuoia Will Debut At SEMA
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Posted On: 10/27/2012 10:30AM
SuzyBruisy

The DragQuoia is the creation of Top Fuel racer Antron Brown, and it claims to be able to lay down a quarter mile in the 9s thanks to 1,500 lbs of weight savings and a 650-horsepower supercharded V8 from TRD. The "Family Dragster" concept (which keeps a family of four strapped in with five-point harnesses for each quarter-mile of fun) is one of a handful of cars that'll be rolled out at SEMA as part of the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Other entries will include a NASCAR'd-up Camry designed by Kyle Busch, and (wait for it) a Prius designed by Clint Bowyer. Yep, I'll bet Clint's real happy about that! Press release and more pics below the jump, and check out an entire gallery of detail shots at SpeedLux.

October 20, 2012
NHRA Driver Antron Brown Launches Radical Toyota Sequoia Dream Build

Dubbed the 'DragQuoia,' Brown Goes Extreme with Family Dragster Concept

TORRANCE, Calif., (Oct. 20, 2012) – NHRA Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown has hatched an extreme concept for his Sequoia in the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge (www.ToyotaRacingDreamBuild.com). Straight line speed is what Top Fuel is all about, and Brown left no stone unturned to make sure his vehicle is the fastest of the four in the competition.

"It's...a special vehicle with a little hint of NHRA twisted all the way in it, with a lot of horsepower," Brown said. "It's fast...from my house to the grocery store!"

Brown's "DragQuoia" family dragster features massive 21.5-inch wide rear tires, 650 plus horsepower from a TRD-supercharged engine with nitrous, and extensive custom chassis fabrication. But making a nine to 10 second Sequoia also means it has to be light. To that end, the team removed over 1,600 lbs. of "non-essential" weight.

To make it family friendly, there are individual racing seats for four, each with its own five-point racing harness, plus a child-size version with harness in the back so junior can get in on the action. A full custom roll cage and a tail-mounted parachute enhance the safety factors in this radical build.

But the competition is fierce. NASCAR driver Kyle Busch created a "Rowdy" edition Camry, Clint Bowyer produced a Tekked-Out Prius, while NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria converted a Tundra pickup truck into a beastly desert pre-runner. Though the drivers are competing for glory against one another, the real victor will be the winning driver's charity of choice, which will receive a $50,000 check from Toyota.

Voting will open on Oct. 20 and will continue through Oct. 29. Fans will be able to vote once per day via Toyota Racing's Facebook page and enter to win prizes, including a Toyota Racing "Dream Trip", which will be given away to one lucky fan.

The final vehicle builds will be unveiled at a press conference in the Toyota display at the SEMA show in Las Vegas on Oct. 30 at 11 a.m. local time. Fans will be able to tune in live to watch the entire press conference on the Toyota Racing Facebook page or LiveStream.com/Toyota and see the winner announced in real time.

Comments (7)
Avatar By: TasakiDog
10/27/2012 5:39 PM

That is the only sequoia I would ever drive. and its a drag car with an automatic? WTF is that?

 
Avatar By: SouthernGuy8503
10/27/2012 7:16 PM

Too bad that "bug catcher" looks fake since there's no hole in the hood for it, so probably not functional either. That makes me think that those zoomies are also fake. Also why make it look like a dragster on the outside and most of the inside, yet keep the dash and steering wheel stock?

 
Avatar By: SouthernGuy8503
10/27/2012 7:17 PM

Oh and, no matter what you do to it, at the end of the day it's still a Toyota. Only Toyota I like that I can think of is the Supra. The rest I could care less to be honest.

 
Avatar By: Mustangman_007
10/27/2012 8:42 PM

SouthernGuy8503, you can see where the 'bug catcher' descends into the engine bay in the interior shot. That being said, I agree that it is dumb that the outside looks like a dragster and the interior looks like a family car.

 
Avatar By: SouthernGuy8503
10/27/2012 9:50 PM

I see from that view and the side view that it's just a slot cut out to take the whole front clip off like a dragster. I just wonder if any of the performance was upgraded or if it was just looks.

 
Avatar By: JVBimmer
10/28/2012 6:19 AM

You guys are swinging an awfully big fly swatter looking for issues on this vehicle.. It looks family inside because that's what the design is looking for (note the small 4-buckle harness seat for a child mentioned?) I also don't recall a PSI gauge or blue rollbars cutting through Sequoia dash and sides as well being 'stock'? Did you actually go and look at the further detailed shots instead of just the one showing the dash?

 
Avatar By: fortyfordsedan
10/28/2012 9:16 AM

I don't think Southernguy read the article either that talks about the 650 hp engine, since he seems to believe its just a dressed up Sequoia. Its a showcar built on a timeline, certain elements are going to get a great deal of attention and others aren't because they payoff is low and the time invested is high. Fabricating a show quality aluminum dash with race gauges in a short amount of time when you are already doing so much else to the car. The craftsmanship on the car looks pretty nice and where they did change things it looks like they spent a great deal of attention to detail from the pictures.

 

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