Building The Dream: Targa Newfoundland Scion FR-S Gets First Round of Upgrades

AutoGuide’s hot-shoe Dave Pratte is headed to Targa Newfoundland in September in a Scion FR-S, and as he and his Speed Academy partner Peter Tarach have started to learn, prepping it for this grueling week-long tarmac rally is going to be a lot of work (especially since they’re not just building the car, they’re also documenting the entire process in photo and video formats).

As you’ll see in Episode 2 of their on-going video series documenting the build, the wrenching has really started to heat up at their “tuning dungeon” (a renovated chicken coup), starting with a pair of Recaro Profi SPG racing seats mounted on Buddy Club Super Low Down seat rails.

They also installed a pair of Takata Race 6 HANS 6-point harnesses in the FR-S, since safety is not something to be taken lightly at an event like Targa NF (some big crashes have occurred in the past, including a Ferrari going for a swim in the ocean). These harnesses are perfect for Targa since the rules require a HANS (head and neck restraint) device be worn, plus Dave is pretty sure the classic Takata Green should really bring out the green in his eyes. For you boring “black is the new green” types, Takata now offers their belts in Black as well.

Dave and Peter have also begun a fun “Racers will turn anything into a competition” element in their build videos, the first of which you’ll see here in Episode 2. We’re also pretty sure that as the result of this first competition, Dave’s going on a protein shake and raw vegetable diet.

Don’t miss Part 1 of this series and for a more in-depth look at the build, see Dave’s project car thread at our Scion FR-S forum.