In the fall of 1998, Import Tuner debuted on newsstands to the surprise of many, showcasing a bright yellow CRX, surrounded by two smoking hot twin sisters known as Olivia and Jennifer Clarin. Working under the IGC umbrella, Import Tuner was published as a special spin-off issue from its popular sister publication, Turbo Magazine. Pioneering a fresh, new concept of combining both import models and bad ass cars all rolled into one, Import Tuner was propelled to stardom and has maintained its popularity for the past nine years. In celebrating our 100th issue, we thought our readers would enjoy a retrospective with our models from past to present. So enjoy some never-before-seen photos of the hottest models to grace the cover of Import Tuner magazine while getting some up-to-date news on what your favorite models have been doing since their cover debut.
Francine Dee caused a state of panic in the Winter of 1999, as boys, men and even women ran to the newsstands in hopes of snatching up a copy of Import Tuner's issue No. 2 to witness the hottest Filipina/Chinese woman seen to date. An unknown model at the time, Francine and her stunning looks brought worldwide attention to import models and the aftermarket car scene. She is one of two early import models to grace the cover of Playboy Magazine. Francine has appeared in several music videos including artists 50 Cent in 2003, Snoop Dogg, Ashanti / Ja-Rule and Tyrese, to name just a few. She also made a small cameo appearance in the movie Soul Plane. Francine continues to draw crowds of fans at various venues and shows. Currently living in Las Vegas, this ageless beauty continues to cause men to do double takes and be the envy of all women.
Tila Nguyen, otherwise passionately known around the world as Tila Tequila, not only tops our list of the hottest models of Import Tuner but has managed to skyrocket her looks and feisty attitude into the world of super stardom. Special guest appearances on CNN, music singles produced by Lil Jon and most recently disclosed to be working with VH1 on a television series. Voted as "The Webs Hottest Mama" by Stuff magazine, Tila has been seen on numerous publications such as Maxim, Rolling Stone and Time Magazine, but none can deny that we, Import Tuner, helped open the opportunity doors for this hot Houston native bombshell in November 2002, on the cover of our 44th issue.
Alie Layus made headlines at her first car show in San Mateo in 2005 representing the Bay area by wearing a skimpy shirt with the words "Hella" emblazoned on the front. Import Tuner quickly jumped into action placing Alie on our 81st issue in December 2005. This energetic, long-legged beauty was seen on various print magazines such as FHM, the Island Eyes 2007 calendar, and more recently can be seen in major department store videos as an official Ecko model sporting their Red Clothing fashion lineup for the 2007 season. Alie is currently working on plans to launch her very own photography website (alielayusphotography.com) whom she accredits David La Chapelle as her main inspiration for artistic creativity.
Natasha Yi was discovered at an Import Tuner party by staff members in 2001 and was quickly contracted to appear on the cover of Import Tuner's 25th issue in April 2001. This Korean-American bombshell was accredited as the first Asian model to grace the set of "The Price Is Right." Due to the overwhelming response from viewers, producers booked her on three primetime Million Dollar Specials. You may have also caught this bombshell in a dozen or so issues of Playboy that started her career as a model. Playboy scouted Natasha during her senior year of high school. Only after two features in the magazine, Natasha was named one of Playboy's Reader's Choice Top 10 models. Natasha quickly made her transition from TV shows such as Pamela Anderson's syndicated show, "VIP," to movie appearances including "The Run Down," "Cradle to the Grave" and "Rush Hour 2." Most recently, Natasha is busy filming the lead role in an upcoming movie called "Thunder Over Reno: Billed as the World's Fastest Love Story!" set to release in all major theatres in the fall of 2007.