Might as well call it the FR-S/BRZ Show as we all knew what was coming. Pretty much every tuner was gonna bring one out, after all – it’s the Acura Integra of the new generation…tuner friendly, affordable and great looking. I was told this car was “given” to Scion from Toyota to save the brand, as they were getting smoked in that market segment – well, it most definitely saved it and then some according to the response from the aftermarket. I won’t be heavy on the FR-S/BRZ stuff since that’s not my target demographic, I’m sure there are pics all over the web for the ones at the show – I’m going to focus on what I thought was particularly cool since that’s why you’re visiting anyways right? I’ll try not to hurt too many feelings. LOL. Here we go:
Ben Sopra GTR – Fatlace
Nuts. Sincerely. Jon Sibal and I were sitting on the stairs at the end of Day 1, talking about the industry – the cars we’ve seen, how maybe I’m getting old and just don’t know what’s “cool” anymore LOL, and this thing. The kit is so aggressive, it’s awesome. Let’s be honest, the GTR is not a thing of beauty – it’s a technological wunderkind. It’s crazy fast, but that’s not always what you’re looking for right? I mean… It’s the girl at the dance that’s booty shaking in the center of the circle, she gets a lot of attention but she’s not the best looking one there. Okay, lemme think of a better way to put that…the GTR is like Chik Fil A, great quality fast food, but it’s still fast food in the end…um, well – you get the point I think. The Ben Sopra kit makes the GTR more of the Godzilla namesake it goes after – it matches the horsepower, it makes it cool – I just can’t quite explain it. What’s more straight race than a full front end that flips up to reveal the motor? I have a lot of friends with GTR’s so don’t get offended, I’m sure they aren’t LOL.
SLR Racecar – Kendra
All I know about this company is that 1. I can’t erase the thought of the ditsy 3rd girl next door from Playboy’s name and 2. I’ve never seen any other marketing from Kendra outside of SEMA. They did bring out one sick car though LOL.
Liberty Walk Murcielago – Toyo Tires
A travesty to purists everywhere I’m sure, I found this car to be crazy enough to pull it off IMO. First off, you gotta know Liberty Walk’s style to understand the concept – air ride to get the lowest possible look, aggressive (insanely) bodywork and exclusivity, let’s face it – it’s not for everyone. Taking a page (perhaps) from RWB, Rocketbunny and the like – screw-on fenders gave the body that swollen raced out flare, an LP670 themed wing and aggressive sideskirts and front lip. Machine finished look via wrap and you’ve got a very urban looking italian with japanese tuning masterpiece.
Sideview.
Ferrari 458 – Vossen
Of all the Florida wheel makers (*cough*cough) there’s one that seems to be able to stay out of the bad press and just build wheels. Gotta give em credit for that alone, not to mention slick and clean marketing (no BS, no hype) and an overall clean aesthetic. Granted they may not be the lightest or most technically engineered wheels out there, but they don’t front like they are either, which is more than I can say about others. They just quietly hold down their own and produce good looking wheels. Honest opinion, I don’t even know these dudes and I know my fair share of people in the industry LOL. Keep doing your thing Vossen.
MBZ Black Series C/Coupe – Vossen
Sinister and you gotta love the bronze/gold on the matte black. Nothing else to say.
Porsche 997.1 GT3 – Carbon Revolution
Believe this is Bill from RennWorx (if you guys remember them) latest company. True CF from what I’ve seen and been told, complete CF as well. Will be interesting to see how well these hold up and the competitions reaction to them, Dymag has been long gone and there are VERY few companies if any producing full CF wheels that I’d be willing to rock on my personal car. HRE just recently re-released a CF setup so 2013 should be real interesting. Send me a set for my project Bill LOL!
Close-up
R8GT / Underground Racing – Nitto Tires
Yeah, short of a Heffner kit, these are the 2 companies that have a monopoly on the insane market of twin turbo-ing Gallardo’s and R8’s LOL. Underground is the household name, Heffner is the originator. Lots of great stories on each. Interesting that this R8GT was missing the wing…assuming it was an R8GT of course and not pieced together, I just couldn’t imagine someone spending the money on upgrading a V10 with some of the GT parts…then again, I can’t imagine someone willing to twin turbo a GT at all LOL. Next level stuff right there – chuch.
Front 3/4
If you look closely – this guy is rocking the HRE CF lips, interesting!
Ferrari 458 Racecar – Continental
Yeah, nothing like bringing out a full racecar LOL. This one is for you Tony…time to scoop up that Scuderia to show Ernie wassup.
Caractere 991 – CEC
Usually known for their Audi kits, was cool to see this 991 outfitted in the CEC booth. Front was really aggressive, but the sides and rear didn’t really flow for me personally.
AMF Wheels – R8 Spyder
Okay, I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought this – but I could swear AMF was a bowling company…right?!? LOL. They’re a division of Ace Alloy (most of you guys probably know ACE) – apparently these go by AMF Forged, again – not bad designs, nice clean setup. Nice car 🙂 LOL! Oh and I’m sure you drinkers also know what AMF stands for LOL.
More to come in Part 2.