As you get older, you realize how much your childhood impacts your everyday adult self. Obviously, this can be a good or a bad thing, but there is no doubt that what you did when you were younger played a role in who you are now. You will find out that you continue to do the things that you loved as a kid as an adult, just on a much larger scale. When you were a child you may have gone to random places in your neighborhood to discover areas that you had never been. You then grow up with a fascination for discovering new places and travel the world. In your adolescent years you may have found yourself doodling on a restaurant place mat or constantly drawing on whatever was around you, and grow up to be an artist. There are indications early on in life that drive and motivate you to do what you love in your later years, whether it be as a simple hobby or as a profession. As an automotive enthusiast, you probably grew up always having cars or something car-related around you that made you appreciate automobiles—and probably also inspired you to pick up this issue of Import Tuner. For New Jersey native Richard Arcilla, his love for cars was most certainly what motivated him to build this incredible Honda S2000 that you see before you.
“I’ve always had a passion for cars.” Richard says. “Even at the young age of 4, I collected all different kinds of Matchbox cars. My mom would buy me water-based paint kits to change the color of the cars and everything. I even had the Matchbox garage with the car wash bay so it was like having my own little detail shop.”
Just knowing that Richard had the Matchbox car wash set has probably triggered an intense sense of jealousy that laid dormant from your childhood. As a kid, having the cars themselves was expected, but having the matching car wash was almost a bit of a pipe dream. You would go to the store and beg and beg for hours for the car wash set, the parking garage, or the LEGO gas station—and not get any of them. You knew one kid on the block who had one of them and you probably hated him; Richard was that kid. If you were jealous then, we hope you’re not an S2000 owner, because you’ll be more envious now than ever. In terms of S2000s, this custom Lamborghini Yellow, Amuse GT1-armored S2K is the childhood equivalent of every Matchbox, Hot Wheels, and LEGO set you never had all rolled into one. Richard wasn’t always the enviable kid on the block though. As he got older, he found himself being the envious one.
I told myself that I would just lower the car and get wheels but I just couldn't stop.
“When it came to real-life cars, I believe my cousins were my main influences growing up. They had an AE86 Corolla, Jackson Racing–supercharged Prelude, and a CR-X SiR. You would probably find me riding shotgun in their cars, because I always begged them for a ride every time I would go over to their house. I later discovered the whole Japanese or ‘JDM’ style of tuning when I met my good friend Jesse Chuck from Chuck Motorsports. He introduced me to Rob at Fizz Autosports in New York, and I was hooked after that.”
Family and friends created his interest in Japanese cars, but his first build was actually a very non-Japanese BMW 330i. The ’03 Bimmer had baller HRE wheels, body kit, and all the fixings, but the S2000 he purchased as a daily driver was just screaming to be modified. “I always loved the S2000 chassis ever since it came out in 2000. The overall look of the car is just timeless, and it’s evident in its 10-year production run. It’s just a great looking car. I told myself that I would just lower the car and get wheels but I just couldn’t stop.”