We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
The words “turbo Hayabusa go-kart” are enough to stop you in your tracks. But twin-turbo Hayabusa go-kart? It’s enough to make you drop your phone and walk away. It’s okay, it’ll be here when you get back; it’s not easy to put down 800 horsepower through tires the size of a watermelon anyway.
Things are this way because apparently, Ben Robertson of YouTube channel Snail TV has no concept of too much. You may remember him from such creations as the Honda K24-swapped, turbocharged Honda CBR1000F, which can give its rider a DIY autopsy if they’re not careful. Around the same time he built that, he was also working on a kart powered by the 1.3-liter four-banger from a Suzuki Hayabusa superbike, but with a turbo strapped to it. A naturally aspirated Hayabusa engine already has at least 170 horsepower—way too much for anything with “kart” in the name. With a turbo, Robertson basically couldn’t keep it pointing in one direction, as shown in a widely circulated (but unattributed) viral video.
The clip’s title touts the machine’s 400 hp output, but Robertson admitted in another video uploaded in February that he never turned it up past 350. A little bench racing never hurt anyone, though. Soon, he says that 400 hp figure will be old news anyway. The plan is to take the kart above and beyond with the help of a second turbo to generate a targeted 800 hp. That’ll give it the power-to-weight ratio of a thermonuclear weapon and make it almost as dangerous, too. This will require a compound turbo setup, meaning the smaller of the two compressors directly boosts the larger instead of feeding the intake. It’ll have dual intercoolers, one just to cool the charge from the smaller turbo to avoid overheating the bigger one.
Whether it’ll actually make 800 horsepower, Roberston isn’t sure. His goal is just to go faster. Anything above 100 horsepower—even less than that, actually—in a go-kart is absolutely terrifying, though, so even if he doesn’t reach his goal, he will have a bona fide deathtrap. Whatever power he makes, he’ll lay it down not through kart tires, but Mickey Thompson junior dragster slicks—it’ll evidently be a drag kart, and not something like a Superkart.
But that’s all it could ever be with a power output like that. Now, all we need is to see it come together and run a pass, which Robertson says will happen soon.
You can bet your sweet applesauce we’re on the lookout for that.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com
