Small cars are fun, big engines are fun, and small cars with big engines are just about the best. This Subaru Justy, with a twin-turbo Toyota 1UZ V8 under its hood, is maybe the best example of why the formula works.
This Justy began life as any other, a standard little hatchback with a three-cylinder engine and selectable four-wheel drive. Now it has an LS400’s heart, a drag-ready rear differential, launch control, and the factory cigarette lighter still in the dash. It’s perfect.
The floorpan is out of a Nissan 200SX (the one we got here as the 240SX, not the one we got as the 200SX), supported by a completely custom-welded chassis that mates it to the Justy body. The rear end is a Ford nine-inch diff, a classic drag racing choice, linked to the engine with a Tremec T56. It’s an interesting pick, given how the T56 seems to be falling out of popularity in favor of the Nissan CD009, but it’s certainly a build that should hold the power figures targeted for the car.
Those power figures, by the way, stretch into the four-digit range. The car was last dynoed at 534 horsepower, but the boost has since been cranked up to produce what the owner estimates is around 600 at the wheels. The owner has set a goal of the low nine-second range in the quarter mile, and is looking to get a full 1,000 horses out of the engine to get there.
Seeing a Subaru Justy at a drag strip is funny enough, but seeing one that’s purpose built and competitive is just fantastic. If you’ve got the resources to go shoving big engines in small packages, you should always do so. It’s just more fun that way.