This Car Will Blow Your Mind

When Toyota rolled an innocuous-looking Camry onto the floor at SEMA it was nothing to write home about, that is, until they lifted up the entire body to reveal an 850-horsepower dragster. This sleeper car really blew the minds of attendees, who rushed to get a good look as a thunderous growl erupted from the seemingly innocent Camry.

“This is the most extreme build we've ever unveiled at SEMA.” — Steve Appelbaum, Toyota.

"This is the most extreme build we've ever unveiled at SEMA," said Toyota Engagement Marketing and Motorsports National Manager Steve Appelbaum. Thanks to Chuck Wade and the team at Motorsport Technical Center, this full-blown racecar vision was able to come to life. The build team extracted the outer shell of the 2015 Camry and mated it to a full tube-frame chassis. Underneath this polished exterior lies rugged brute force. A 5.7-liter V8 engine was taken from Toyota's Tundra pickup. A TRD supercharger was developed for the engine along with a wet nitrous system.

Channeling this power on the asphalt are DOT 335/30/18 drag racing tires to help propel the dragster to a smoking 9.80-second quarter-mile time. Amazingly the entire build was completed in just 11 weeks. "This Camry is the ultimate sleeper — it definitely has the element of surprise on its side and more than enough muscle to drop the hammer on any unsuspecting car that pulls up," said Wade, Motorsports Technical Center Director.


The Sleeper Camry has been on display at the 2014 SEMA Show this week. Afterward it will tour the country at select NHRA races.