Always Been Root Down VSLike it or not, the WRX has to be the best deal going in the import car market. No other car offers an equal amount of performance straight out of the box for the amount of money you spend. Plus, it's got the vaunted Subaru WRC heritage backing it, so you know damn well it should perform just as well in dirt and gravel as it would on the street or racetrack.
As soon as the WRX hit the market, Costa Mesa's Ben Wong knew it was time for a new car. Wong fell in love with all-wheel-drive performance when he got a ride in an R32 Skyline, and he even daydreamed about importing one of those JDM exotics, but in the end he decided he was rooted far too firmly in reality to send himself that deeply into debt. And there's no doubt the new WRX is the next best thing to a Nissan Skyline-here on this continent, anyway.
Wong went down to his local Subaru dealer, fully intending just to look and formulate a plan of attack. He took a silver WRX for a test drive, and ended up buying it that very day. Needless to say, the car was a blast to drive and very strong even in factory trim, but of course it wouldn't remain factory spec for long.
"My goal was to build an above-average daily driver that looks good and makes mad power on stock internals," Wong said, stressing the part about daily driving. "I believe cars are made to be driven, not trailered around to shows. I drive this car every day."
Wong was fairly certain he could drum up significant support for his project because he's involved with the import aftermarket day in and day out as marketing director for high-end aerodynamics firm Kaminari. The company had been looking to develop body treatments for the WRX, which was still fairly new at the time Wong bought his, and needed a vehicle to design the components around. As luck would have it, Wong was a step ahead of his colleagues.
The kit treatments present on this car are prototype pieces, but by the time you read this you'll be able to buy them all for your own WRX. How's that for convenience? Treatments include a front lip, carbon-fiber splitter, side skirts, rear skirt and an adjustable wing with carbon-fiber blades. The centerpiece of this kit, however, has to be the carbon-fiber hood. The hood was so new at the time we took these pictures that it hadn't even been clear coated. As you can see, Kaminari's designers decided to keep the scoop, but it's pretty obvious their reverse-cowl scoop is somewhat bigger than the factory's, and quite frankly sets this car off.
Wong made some other additions to the car's exterior with special JDM accessories he sourced through his Subaru dealer. Exterior additions include STi rain guards along the tops of the doors, as well as STi headlights and badges.
When it came time to start making more power, Wong didn't jump into the water headfirst as many enthusiasts are apt to do. He spent a couple weeks doing his homework and planning an effective power-enhancement strategy that would allow his engine to retain its structural integrity as the Subaru engineers had intended. The first thing he did was add safeguards that would give him peace of mind that the car was running properly at all times. Blitz DC Series meters-gauges that stick directly to the windshield glass instead of requiring modification to the dash or A-pillar-were installed to monitor oil temperature, oil pressure and boost pressure. A Blitz boost controller was also installed to monitor and manage the forced induction system. Island Motorsports in Buena Park, Calif., installed the electronics.
By Jason Mulroney
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