In 2024 Mikko Kataja crashed the VHT Racing Toyota Starlet. Mikko spent the next year and half redesigning and rebuilding the car. The body received new custom carbon fiber panels from Haidea in Finland. VHT Racing adjusted the suspension for a lowered ride height and wider track. Of course the star of the project still remains. In the engine bay is a 2.7 L RPX V8 built by Radical Precision Engineering (RPE). This is a custom V8 with a 65 mm stroke, 81 mm bore, flat-plane crankshaft, Cosworth pistons, VHT Racing-spec camshafts, and J.Kosunen-ported Hayabusa heads. Mikko made adjustments to the camshaft design to further push for more than 150 hp per liter. Mikko’s first test of the car was Wolsfeld Hillclimb (Wolsfelder Bergrennen) in Germany. He took him a 1st in class and 3rd overall.
Update Jun-11-2026: Added video of Starlet on dyno
Source: VHTRacing FB page