The ultimate sleeper? 900 HP Lexus Turbo V8 GS Street Test

With the explosion of turbocharging over the past few years, just about any car you encounter on the street could be a sleeper. It’s hard to look at a car and know for sure if there’s a stock powerplant under the hood or if the owner has strapped on a turbo and ramped up the horsepower level.

In this video from Nelson Racing Engines, we get a great close-up look at one such ride, a Lexus GS400 that looks from the outside very much like your mom’s Lexus, assuming your mom has decent taste in wheels! Beneath the hood of this luxury sedan lies a beast in the form of a boosted 4 liter V8 pumping out almost 900 horsepower. Under the hood is the only real evidence of the power on tap too, as the interior is almost completely stock Lexus comfort with only two extra gauges – one for transmission temp and one for fuel pressure – indicating that something sinister is at play. In the glovebox hides a digital AFR readout and the port to connect the Electromotive tuning software.

Taking a spin around town in the GS, it’s obvious the car rides and drives like a luxury car should, until you put your foot on the loud pedal, which awakens the 72mm turbo and sends the sleek sedan screaming down the road!