IF YOU are a fan of Toyota’s popular C-HR compact crossover, but wished it had a little more punch then you’re in for a treat. The Japanese car maker has skipped tuning stages one through 10 and created a monstrous SEMA show car that can embarrass pedigree supercars on their race track home turf.

The newest addition to Toyota’s line-up is ordinarily powered by a modest 1.2-litre 85kW turbo petrol that is enough for hauling four people or perhaps a boot of groceries, but the R-Tuner show car that was unveiled in Las Vegas this week has swallowed the 2.4-litre donk from the Camry plus a turbo for more than 447kW.

Engine internals were upgraded with titanium and Inconel valve-train components and forged pistons and conrods to handle the elevated temperatures, while the single Garret turbo boosts induction with 23psi.

But the R-Tuned C-HR is not a drag racer and has been designed to rule the racetrack with triple-adjustable Motion Control Suspension, motorsport dampers and some serious aero attention.

The result? A full-noise attack of the Willow Springs track in California returned a lap time of 1:25.22, which has only been improved on by a handful of serious supercars including the Porsche 911 GT3, Nissan GT-R Nismo and McLaren 650S Spyder, says Toyota.

On the inside, most of the standard interior has been binned to shed kilos, while a carbon fibre bonnet cuts even more weight. Toyota has not revealed how the R-Tuner C-HR tips the scales after its crash diet but says it weighs ‘hundreds of pounds’ less than the showroom version.

“The C-HR R-Tuned has been to the track every month since we started the project late last year,” said Gardner. “It’s probably been subjected to more real-world tests than just about any car built for SEMA. It’s not just a show concept but a track-worthy performance vehicle, and I can’t wait to see what people at SEMA and beyond think”.