The few men who turn a heavyset Toyota Supra into a dedicated racing car all deserve praise. A little heavy and a little too long, the fourth-gen Supra is more of a grand tourer and not perfectly suited for the road course, but it still holds promise. When that potential is unlocked with a choice series of modifications, it becomes a pretty handy weapon on the road course — but still one that’s capable of biting its driver.

Australian, Shane Standley put his ’96 Supra on a diet, improved the suspension, increased the power, added some aerodynamic elements, installed a cage, and succeeded in turning his street car into a fairly focused track toy. Eventually, casual track days became testing sessions for the World Time Attack Challenge — the foremost one-lap battle in Australasia. It draws huge crowds, professional drivers from a variety of categories, reputable tuners, and outrageous builds. To excel there, one has to put their car on the line, and unfortunately, Standley overstepped that line back in 2013.

After getting it wrong exiting a quick corner (1:27), Standley found himself in a world of hurt. Even though the GT35R turbocharger is modestly sized for a 2JZ-GTE, it still hits a little too hard for a car with so little weight over the driven wheels. Even with a Racelogic traction control system and an APR wing improving traction, the Supra’s spiky power delivery lit the rears and sent the car into a harrowing spin.

That snap oversteer, compounded by a unsettling curb which threw the car further out of balance, caused a slide impossible to catch. Unfortunately, the runoff area on the inside didn’t offer the heavyweight car much room to decelerate, and the whole mistake ended in a sickening thud. Footage from the sidelines captures the violence of the crash:

Standley emerged unscathed, and considering he was wearing his civvies, he’s fortunate nothing caught flame in the accident. A Recaro SPG seat, Willans harness, and Saftey 21 rollcage made it that much safer.

Not only is Standley a lucky man, but he’s a doggedly determined one, too. Though his kids and his business have taken precedence since this crash, he has been stacking a tall pile of parts to one day build a replacement for his track car. This car, nicknamed “GV2,” promises to be even faster.

Standley refreshed the original engine and retained the undamaged driveline, but he sourced a new shell with a custom rollcage. The refreshed engine will benefit from a Precision 6466 turbocharger and GSC cams for even more power to be sent to a TRD limited-slip differential. With Marks Engineering suspension arms, Aragosta coilovers, and Alcon brakes, it’s clear Standley isn’t sparing many expenses in his pursuit of his ideal Supra. We wait for his new monster with bated breath, and hope it fares better at WTAC than its predecessor did.