Keanu Reeves Raced This Supercharged Scion Tc, And Now You Can, Too

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The long-defunct Toyota Pro/Celebrity Races utilized to beryllium my favourite portion of the Long Beach title weekend. The yearly ten-lap title was held from 1977 to 2016, raising money for area children's hospitals, and it pitted immoderate of nan champion racing drivers of each clip against immoderate of Hollywood's best (and worst). While each racer successful nan arena was fixed nan aforesaid equipment, nan grid of pros was started 30 seconds down nan celebs to springiness them a fighting chance. Some of nan celebrities who participated successful nan arena later went connected to go much profoundly willing successful racing, for illustration Frankie Muniz and Keanu Reeves. 

Reeves won nan 2009 moving of nan Pro/Celebrity race, during nan era successful which Toyota didn't build a azygous nosy sports car. Instead of moving thing inexpensive and slow for illustration a Yaris, Toyota decided to manus disconnected nan reigns of nan Pro/Celebrity title to its excitement marque Scion betwixt 2006 and 2012. Even nan company's 2AZ-powered tC coupe was deemed excessively slow for nan race, and each was fitted pinch a TRD supercharger for a 60 horsepower bump to astir 220 ponies astatine nan crank. Each tC was besides equipped pinch a racing clutch, a DC Sports exhaust, coilovers, a StopTech large brake kit, 17-inch BBS wheels, a Kaminari rear wing, and nan basal minimum information instrumentality for illustration a rotation cage and model net. Okay, truthful it's not precisely a velocity demon tin of a nationalist championship, but this car would make an exquisite way time car aliases possibly a nosy autocrosser pinch a cool story. 

It isn't often that you get an opportunity to acquisition a factory-built title car, and moreover much uncommon that 1 pinch a personage racer relationship is offered for truthful small money. As of this penning the precocious bidder connected this car complete connected Bring A Trailer, a nary reserve listing astatine that, is going location pinch nan car for conscionable $3,500. Heck, you tin hardly get a utilized TRD supercharger for that overmuch money these days. 

There's thing you should cognize astir title cars, and particularly inexpensive title cars pinch superchargers: they perpetually get their asses kicked for 10 laps astatine a time. There isn't overmuch archiving disposable astir which Scions raced successful which years, but apparently nan institution re-used a fewer of these cars for aggregate events earlier trading them off. This Reeves-driven car was handed disconnected to nan FastLane Racing School, which operated astatine Willow Springs. So now it's been a fewer years, it has retired from Hollywood (er, Long Beach), and location are racing students caning nan crap retired of nan car successful nan mediate of nan hot-as-Hades desert. Yeah, that's a bully opportunity to perfectly navigator a car successful short order. 

The Scion's odometer indicates it has only been driven 12,000 miles, but you tin stake your bottommost dollar that those person been immoderate of nan hardest miles immoderate car has ever driven. Looking astir astatine nan images of nan car successful nan auction listing, location person decidedly been immoderate off-track excursions and 15 years of difficult driving. It's each still there, but nan beforehand bumper and broadside skirts person seen amended days. The harnesses and model nett are measurement retired of date, and nan decals are each cracked and sun faded, but immoderate attraction and elbow grease could get it looking bully again. It's nan mechanicals I'm not truthful judge about. 

Look, I'm not saying this car is abruptly unreliable. It's still moving nan venerable 2AZ 2.4-liter inline 4 which powered a cardinal Camrys and RAV4s for a mates of decades now. They reportedly commencement to pain lipid aft a while, truthful a track-only motor pinch forced induction is astir apt going to request a rebuild astatine immoderate point, but these engines are fundamentally free and you tin find parts successful immoderate guidance you take to look. 

While Mr. Reeves doesn't person overmuch relationship to this car today, speech from nan truth that it's his sanction emblazoned connected windshield and rear quarter, it holds a spot successful his motorsports history. Keanu still occasionally races, having stepped successful for a fewer rounds of nan Toyota GR Cup bid successful 2024. 

In 1999's "The Matrix," Keanu's characteristic could plug successful to nan net itself and download a program. Maybe that's really he learned to beryllium a bully racing driver and won nan Pro/Celebrity event. I wish I could download that file, because while I'm decidedly an supra mean driver, I'm obscurity adjacent accelerated capable to bargain myself a dedicated way car. Then again, this 1 is inexpensive enough, possibly I should conscionable return nan consequence and study how. 

If you've already jacked into nan Matrix and downloaded nan bully driver file, possibly you'll want to prime up this chaotic factory-built racer for a song. Despite nan unsmooth information and non-title legality of this track-only car, I would beryllium genuinely amazed to spot this waste for little than $10,000. One of those GR Cup racers that I mentioned sells for a monolithic $130,000 aliases so, making this moreover much of a bargain. Wake up, Mr. Anderson. Follow nan Scion tC.