This is another entry in our archive series, where we’re bringing back shoots from the original Tunerzine era that either never had a permanent home online or disappeared along with the sites that originally hosted them. This one ran in the November 2004 issue of Modified Magazine under the title “Black Diamond,” with the story credited to Nero Deliwala and me. I photographed the car in July 2004 on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
I have a longer history with Titan Motorsports than I do with almost any other shop in the industry. Fresh out of college, I spent a few months working there before eventually jumping over to Enjuku Racing, but Titan remained an important part of my career long after I left. James Innes, while he was still there, always took care of me whenever I needed anything, and so did the Deliwala brothers, Nero and Baadal, better known as Bottle. At just about every NHRA event I covered, I would eventually end up at the Titan rig to cool off, and they were always willing to give me access to their cars and drivers for photos. When I first started freelancing for Modified, I had already lined up several S13s for print and wanted something different, so I reached out to Titan. This black Toyota Supra, owned by Charlie Consagra, was the car they gave me.
The Supra was built through Titan, which is why the shop’s name shows up all over the original spec sheet. The 2JZ-GTE used a Titan street head with a Ferrea valvetrain, Titan intake manifold, cam gears, damped crank pulley, and a complete Titan fuel system, along with HKS 264-degree intake and exhaust cams and HKS blow-off valves. A GReddy T88 turbo kit supplied the boost, paired with a GReddy three-row intercooler, while a Fluidyne radiator handled cooling. Engine management consisted of a Titan-reprogrammed factory ECU working with an HKS VPC and GCC, with an HKS EVC EZ controlling boost. An RPS six-puck unsprung clutch and TRD LSD handled the drivetrain, while Eibach springs and Titan adjustable sway bars kept the suspension relatively simple. Titan also dressed up the engine bay with a radiator show plate, billet spark plug cover, billet caps, and a polished valve cover.
The exterior had been repainted black and fitted with a Bomex front bumper, side skirts, and rear skirts, along with a VeilSide hood and Rod Millen Motorsports wing. Everything was color matched to the body, while the factory headlights were replaced with European-spec glass units and Speedesign added the custom graphics. The Supra rode on 18-inch Volk Racing TE37 wheels finished in Mercury Silver with Michelin Pilot Sport tires measuring 235/40 up front and 285/35 in the rear. Brembo brakes sat at all four corners, with a 14-inch front kit and 13.6-inch rear kit, both using four-piston calipers. Inside were Sparco Milano seats, a Sparco Flash 5 steering wheel, a GReddy shift knob, and GReddy 60mm boost and EGT gauges mounted in a carbon fiber dash kit. The rear seat was also reupholstered to match the rest of the interior.
I really liked this shoot back then, and looking through the photos again more than 20 years later, I still do. The Supra was extremely photogenic and was a good example of the kind of street car Titan was building at the time: big single turbo, full bodywork, nice wheels, a clean interior, and a lot of attention paid to the smaller details. One photo in particular ended up having a life of its own. The rear rig shot from this set surfaced on Reddit years later as someone’s colored-pencil art project, which definitely wasn’t something I expected when I was photographing a Supra on a college campus in the middle of a Florida summer.
It’s also been great to watch what Titan became over the years. The Deliwala brothers started the company in 1999 while modifying their own Supra, and Titan went on to become a major name in NHRA Sport Compact racing with its 2JZ-powered cars. The Titan-built EKanoo Racing Supra later became the first import into the five-second quarter-mile, and the shop also built one of the early eight-second GR Supras. More than 25 years after it started, Titan is still operating out of Orlando and building some seriously fast cars. For another MKIV Supra from around the same era, we also have the Signal Auto MKIV Supra in the archive, along with Wes Bourne’s Titan street Supra.
GalleryPhotos by Jason Siu
