Building a Toyota Prius the NASCAR Way

By Logan Utsman on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

If you never thought you would get to see a full size SUV compete against gas/electric hybrid then you might want to change your thinking. Come October 20, both a Toyota Sequioa and Prius will go head-to-head in a competition of power, speed and coolness also known as Toyota Racing’s Dream Build Challenge. Making the “DragQuioa” take notice will be NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer and his shop’s “Tekked-Out Prius.” While perhaps not as horsepower hungry as the big SUV, the hybrid is looking to be one of, if not the most technologically infused Toyotas ever conceived.

“When you think of a hot rod, you don’t think of a Prius,” said Bowyer. A first place finisher in this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup, Bowyer is no stranger to speed and general automotive wizardry. Across the next few weeks, his team of mechanical lunatics will turn a 50+ mpg Prius into a rolling Best Buy. The side view mirrors will be replaced with a full camera system with multiple in-car monitors. A Windows Operating System will supply knowledge for the car’s in-car “Carputer” which will incorporate both voice and video control functions.

“A young, sophisticated global thinker meets a connected, socially conscious traveler—that’s the theme of the Tekked-Out Prius,” said Bowyer.

Gallery

Toyota Prius Pictures