As a kid did you ever wish for super powers? like pretending you could be invisible or have x-ray vision? You know that at one time or another you wished you could see in the dark, right? Well, this crazy MR-2 is a technical feat come true. It is a true Night Rider. Not only does it have an immense eye-catching custom wide-body kit, but it can also watch your every move. No perpetrating going on here, it truly does have night vision and secret cameras. It can cruise stealthily at night and scope out unknowing honeys. what a dream come true! And it ain't no bucket either-this bad-ass MR-2 is wider than your baby's momma's behind! You can floss and roll like a CIA agent all in one, yeeeaaah, try and beat that fools!
Now before we explain all of this vehicle's voyeuristic tendencies, which I know you want to hear about, let's first cover how this regular ol' MR-2 turbo turned into a player-hater's wet dream.
Let's skip back to the Y2K days for a minute. Pete Monsod is a veteran MR-2 turbo owner. His first 1991 Mister Two ran Blitz everything and hummed with a J-spec motor. Having grown tired of it, however, Monsod set his eyes on a new MR-2 project. After picking up this 1992 MR-2 turbo Monsod planned to install a faux (that's fancy for knock off) TRD 200GT wide-body kit to celebrate Y2K itself. After installing the body kit, Monsod was disappointed because he felt it wasn't fit to be called a true wide body. He decided to take the square kit off and instead put it in the hands of Studio in Glendale, Calif., to fabricate a custom "wider" body. When the MR-2 made its second debut, it was 2.5-in wider on each side compared to a regular TRD-looking wide-body kit. Monsod then modified the rear so the taillights extended on each side to give the appearance of a real wide body, and finally, a custom tail was fabricated to ward off anyone trying to bite his style.
Monsod's a picky man and he wasn't going to be satisfied with any ill-fitting body moldings like so many we see out there (you know who you are, Mister Three-Inch Gap), so he made sure the time was taken to do it right. After the vehicle's time in Studio it was off to Euro Classic of Pasadena, Calif. Euro Classic is usually known for its work with European (Euro, duh!) cars such as Mercedes, Porsches and Ferraris. The company certainly can add Japanese cars to their list now. It was there that the final straightening of the body took place, as well as installing custom aluminum wheel wells to clean up the inside part of the fenders. Additionally, a black undercarriage coat was applied to make the bottom pristine enough to eat off of and everything was replaced with brand new parts, including the side moldings and all the rubber moldings. Euro Classic also hooked the car up with a custom aluminum fuel door, which required a little modification of the hose in order to place it. Finally, the guys dipped the MR-2 in 13 coats (lucky number 13 in this car's case) of deep yellow paint.
Monsod reports that all this effort paid off when people tell him the custom bodywork looks factory. The lines are flawless, including the often-overlooked fender wells and undercarriage. Monsod feels the emphasis was on quality work, not busy modifications to distract the common audience. Monsod says he loves it when industry professionals commend him on the superb quality of the work on his car because then he knows he did his job. He's even had people not well-schooled in import cars come up and ask him if his car is some type of Ferrari! Now I've heard of Fieroraris, but never MR-2raris!
To accommodate the wide-load body, Monsod called Dazz Motorsports to order him some specially-manufactured Lowenhart BS5 18-in Monos. It took six months, but the end result was a stunning 6-in deep dish in the rear and 3 inches in the front. These crazy-fat lip wheels roll on Falken ZR tires (and if you're wondering, that requires a 285/35/18 in the rear). Now with everyone checking out your lovely variable-width rims you can't skimp out on the big brakes, could you? Monsod selected a Rotora big brake kit to do the job and threw on some TEIN HA coilovers.
Before you think this car is all show-ho, let future rivals beware that this turbo Toyota is sporting a custom rear-mount Spearco intercooler and polished Turbonetics T4 ball-bearing turbo good for upwards of 500hp. Also under the rear hatch is a Tail Gate wastegate, down pipe, Blitz blow off valve for those nice acoustics, Walboro fuel pump, 550cc injectors, Magnecore racing wires, Denso spark plugs and Blitz SUS filter. Monsod is a man who likes his chrome so he went for a custom chrome manifold, valve cover and dump tube. Finishing off the backyard-install special is custom turbo piping and a custom funnel to drain water in case of rain.