I never get tired of looking at the Varis Super Taikyu kit.
Epic is really the only word to describe it.
It’s such an impractical setup for street driving. You’d have to be rich, insane or maybe a bit of both to run one. But I have to admit, it’d be hard for me not to consider this as an option if I owned an STi.
Photos courtesy of Garage Spec.
It’s just after dawn. The sun isn’t visible, but the sky is bathed in shades of pink and gray. A blanket of fog on the surrounding mountains begins to recede, as the light of day grows. It reveals a single stretch of perfectly paved tarmac, so smooth it’s texture is barely visible. The sharp white and yellow lines of the road are a stark contrast to the forest that surrounds it. The silence of dawn is broken by a rumble in the distance. Startled, a flock of crows takes to the sky as it grows nearer. Tires squeal and from around a bend, a vehicle emerges. The driver accelerates hard and is quickly on the brakes again; the exhaust crackles, as he downshifts approaching the next turn. The driver likes spending his early morning hours on these roads. They’re open and calm, the right kind of place for collecting data. With each turn he gains more feedback on his designs, learns more about the handling of the beast he controls.
That’s how I envision Varis testing their latest designs. Their workshop has been described as a mystical place, high in the mountains for Japan. It’s out of reach, close to the roads with which their cars were born. Their pieces not only represent the highest levels of quality and functionality, but have contributed heavily to the fashions and styling trends of exterior tuning in the industry.
It’s always very exciting to see new aero for any car. It’s particularly exciting when that aero is made by Varis and it’s for an Impreza.
I’ve been closely following the progress of this design on Varis’ blog for the last couple of months. They’re one of the first manufacturers to design any substantial aero pieces for the GVB Impreza and the results speak for themselves.
What started as a cooling bonnet, quickly evolved into a full kit for every side of the car.
I consider this the Stage 1 kit because the design has retained the car’s factory front and rear bumpers. Over the next year or so I’ll be expecting to see Stage 2, a more heavily developed areo kit, designed for circuit driving. That should have new bumpers and more serious downforce. In years past the street kit has been a good indicator of where the company is heading with their designs. Varis never disappoints and this is currently the best look for the GVB Impreza.
Something else to look out for may be another possible collaboration with Original Runduce. For the GRB, Varis developed a unique areo kit for Runduce’s demo car. I’m excited to see that things are moving in the right direction. A lot of shops are struggling right now and we’ve seen many close their doors. Happily, Varis doesn’t seem to be one of them.
Photos courtesy of Varis.
Speaking of cars that have been out of the game for a while, check out William’s GDB STi. This car used to be another one of the OG’s in the Seattle Subaru scene but has spent the better part of 3 years holding it down in the garage. Now William has his STi back on the streets and it’s looking great. Lots of rare parts adorn this Impreza; including an Amuse R1 Titan exhaust and a Do-Luck carbon trunk and rear wing. More on this car a little later.
Conceptualizing and building the perfect car takes skill. One of the most crucial steps in achieving perfection is having the ability to exploit the car’s best features. Granted, a car’s best features depend on who you’re talking to. Timeless has achieved perfection by making his GDB STi stand out from the rest. I never thought the GDB had tons of potential in the looks department, but he’s managed to prove all the naysayers (myself included) wrong.
Calling the streets of San Diego home, this GDB STi uses it’s simplistic looks to make a big statement. The front of the car is complete with an STi V-Limited front lip, JDM fog lights and a carbon reverse hood scoop.
All the attention in the rear is dominated by the HKS Kansai carbon diffuser. It’s be cut and modified for the absolute perfect fit. A wingless trunk and STi Limited lip spoiler add subtle hints of sportiness. The windows have all received JDM rain guards, which I think is a very nice touch. The STi’s aggressive stance is achieved by a set of Prodrive GC10E’s, 18×9.5 +25. There’s something to be said for Timeless’ choice in wheels. It would’ve been easy to go with a set of Rays or Advans like everyone else, yet he chose something a little different. It’s a good thing too because the Prodrive wheels are one of the main reasons why this STi stands out so much from the competition.
If a car is going to look this good, than it best have the performance to match. It’s fitted with a GT30R turbine putting out around 440whp and if you look very carefully, you may be able to spot the black APS intercooler. Timeless has certainly built a beautiful STi.
Photos courtesy of Timeless.
I love this WRX. It reminds me of the old days, around 2004 when most Subaru guys drove bugeyes. HellaFlush (as a concept) hadn’t been invented and just the simplest of modifications made a huge impact. The Subaru scene was still pretty fresh and we didn’t know any other way. Gus’ WRX is one of those throwback cars. The wheels aren’t poking, there’s no carbon fiber to be seen, and everything is just clean and simple. Building a great car is like knowing how to cook well; stick to a few simple ingredients and don’t overdo it.
Enkei’s are truly at home on Imprezas. I have yet to find a car that RPF1′s look better on. Gus used some of his Photoshop skills to paint his wheels matte black and add the V-Limited front lip. Both of which he’s considering doing to the car. I think they would be welcome additions.
I’m just not a big silver fan, but you can’t deny how easy it is to work with. Silver cars just look cleaner and newer for much longer. This WRX looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. I’m sure many will question what I’m on about, but this car is proper.
Photos courtesy of adizon.
L’AUNSPORT are the go-to guys in Japan if you’re looking for a WRC-style look for your Subaru. They’ve been around for a while now and have designed body kits for nearly every Impreza generation. Their most recent endeavor was for the GRB STi and just look at it!
The fender flares are a really nice touch and flow perfectly with the front bumper. I’m also a big fan of those carbon door mirrors.
The rear wing is immense to say the least. I’ve always really liked the rally look and I think it’s pretty awesome that L’AUNSPORT is there to make the aero parts widely available. Without them the only alternative would be scouring the internet for genuine, used WRC body panels. I’m curious to see if they style a kit for the new STi sedan. It won’t be competing in the WRC since Subaru pulled out a couple years ago, so L’AUNSPORT may have to come up with a completely original design. It’ll be interesting to see what they do.
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot more cars with latches on the front bumper. They’re great to have if you do a lot of work on your car and I’ve been playing with the idea for a while. Ever since I had my fender bender a few months ago it seems like my front bumper has spent more time off the car than on it.
There’s a couple different approaches to having latch system for the front bumper and it’s a very inexpensive. I’ve even seen people do away with latches and install plastic clips painted to match, that are flush with the bodywork so it’s barely notable. It’s certainly more convenient that the alternative. Right now I have my bumper held on with zip ties. It does the job but it’s so annoying having to cut them and put new ones on every time I need to do some work.
I thought this GDA track car was pretty clean too. I love those meaty racing slicks!
This is the car that sparked my interest in the Prodrive and STi V-Limited lip combination. I’ve never really seen this WRX before, it just kind of emerged in the SoCal scene a few months ago. I’m not even sure who the owner is, but he has good taste. Photographer and STi owner Luis (pictured in the background), took some new pictures of this elusive WRX that has gotten my attention.
When done properly, the big old OEM fog lights can look pretty good in yellow. It comes as no surprise either that BBS LM’s perfectly round out the look of this WRX. I’m pretty sure the wheels used to belong to Kenny, before he parted out his Subaru.
Lens flares can easily be abused (watch Star Trek), but they can also be very tastefully done, like in this picture.
Now I’m pretty sure this WRX is running a replica V-Limited lip. It’s understandable, look at the clearance. I’m still debating on whether or not I want the real deal. I’m pretty adamant about finding a carbon one. We’ll see what happens, I’m not even sure if STi made one that fit the 06/07 model Impreza?
Photos courtesy of Luis.
Over the last few days I’ve scoured the internet for pictures of Imprezas rocking the Prodrive front lip. Here’s a couple that stood out to me.
Not sure which splitter dude’s fitted underneath the lip, but it looks pretty good. It’s probably custom.
This is adizon’s WRX from the Bay Area. I love the Enkei’s and meaty tires on this one. He’s photoshopped an STi V-Limited lip to get an idea of how it would look on his car. I think it looks pretty great! I’m kind of obsessing over this front lip thing, but I’m sure everyone of you guys has done the same with your own cars LOL.
The Prodrive front bumper is one of the rarest items for the GDA Impreza. They’re especially hard to find in the US because it was never actually sold here. Getting one of these in good condition is near impossible. However I came across this WRX from Hawaii that’s rocking the bumper and the optional fog light kit.
The Prodrive bumper is the same one used on the old WRC car and it’s a pretty simple design. I actually prefer it with the fog lights installed. It gives the car’s front end a lot more character. This guy has also managed to retrofit a V-Limited style lip, which looks great!
An STi for the daily grind? Not bad.
