One Take is a series on ” target=”_blank”>The Smoking Tire featuring Matt Farah, who takes drives with enthusiast’s vehicles through the tight roads in Southern California. Interestingly, this Scion tC that he got behind the wheel of was a whole different beast.

Jumping right into it, we can see that the tC is fully gutted, reinforced, and decorated with a slew of modifications. The owner said the engine is turbocharged with a Garrett GT30R and a 3-inch V-band exhaust, coupled with a billet block, stock head and stage two cams. Built to be a time attack car, this tC looks every bit a race car is amped up to be.

Initially, Matt was enjoying the tC as he complemented the owner for the car’s loudness and sheer power. However, as he began to navigate tighter turns and inclines, that’s where his opinion began to change. Watching Matt attempt to control the 350 horsepower, front-wheel drive monstrosity, he was simply experiencing an excessive amount of torque steer.

Torque steer occurs when acceleration affects a vehicle’s steering, specifically in front-wheel drive applications that feature a transversely mounted engine. The tC looked to be pulling side to side during heavy throttle application, with Matt saying that it felt like the tC wanted to drive itself off of the road.

One of the disadvantages of powerful front-wheel drive cars, torque steer is tough to deal with unless you’re used to it. The car’s owner said he had just installed a limited slip differential, but failed to get an alignment before bringing it out for Matt to drive. Matt’s experience with the car was funny to witness as he struggled to keep the car under control, giving the owner major kudos for being able to drive such a car. Oddly, the torque steer may have been aggravated by the fact that the owner said he is running a reverse-staggered fitment that boasts meatier tires up front and a smaller tire section width on the rear.

It could be possible that this supposed track car is built for flatter tracks as we saw it struggle through the canyon roads and watched Matt make multiple efforts to keep the car from getting loose. Seeing the car bounce and jerk during the drive was comparable to sitting shotgun in an off-road vehicle in rough terrain. It was surprising to see Matt have such a hard time, but it goes to show that the car’s setup in essence may need a few tweaks to get the tC’s formula right.

Clearly, the power is alive and well in the tC. We’ve come to the conclusion that there a few factors as to why Matt was having such a hard time with the car. As we mentioned earlier, due to the car being unaligned, the tC’s contact patches with the pavement were altered and prone to losing area. Other factors may have included problems with the differential since it was freshly installed.

What’s clear here is that if you’re going to bring a car to test out, make sure it’s in turn-key form. We can say this was dangerously cool for some odd reason, though. No one expects this much power to come from a budget sport compact vehicle, especially a Scion for what it’s worth.

Would you take the chance with this tC to navigate tight sections of road? Is the tC worth converting into a full blown track car? Be sure to share your thoughts below.