Looking back towards trends of the past, it’s ironic that this article spoke about them. This vehicle was first shot by Josh Mackey back in July of 2005, and we wanted to show off trends and styles that existed over two years ago. Needless to say, this MR2 feature has stood the test of time and its styling and power still rivals completely built vehicles of today.
The general direction in which something tends to move, that is the definition of a trend. Like your favorite hyper color t-shirt, or those awesome flannel shirts you used to buy when you listened to your Pearl Jam CD. Trends are something you see in this industry every year, whether it’s Altezza style tail lights, or those new JDM tail lights you just bought. Ian Shoel’s 1991 Toyota MR2 of Team Menace has seen the blunt of some of the major trends, but you can’t exactly call it “trendy” as he didn’t follow what you would normally have seen. Can you believe this Grand Prix White MR2 once had a mix of candy paint, airbrushed flames and S15 headlights? I believe that’s what you would call the trend where everyone wanted to mold different lights onto their car, you remember that year? The year you could find Nissan Skyline headlights on Civics and in extreme cases, the other way around.
Ian, owner of Premiere Autowerks in Seattle, WA has decided to take this newest trend of clean body lines and a focus on horsepower to another level. Ian took a break from operating his shop to show me his pride and joy that had engulfed his life for the past seven years. The exterior of the car is where we start; Do Luck USA based in Kent, WA was called upon to give the MR2 its sleek lines and aggressive look. A complete Aero Wivern kit, which includes the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, spoiler and air ducts were fitted to the car. Giving the car a bolder look, and shaving some extra weight was the Border Carbon Fiber hood. To match the hood, the vented Phoenix Power Carbon Fiber trunk lid was bolted on, once again to save weight, but also to funnel that precious cold air that all high horsepower engines need. Ensuring that Ian stayed with that bold look, IS300 JGTC side mirrors were added, and to complete the clean line theme, the door handles, trim moldings, reverse light, trunk key hole and gas cap were shaved. Moving the gas cap to a better location is sometimes a trick, but Ian moved his to the driver side quarter rear window vent. To complete the exterior, Ian hunted down a pristine set of 94-95 MR2 taillights.
Normally, most owners don’t pay attention to certain areas of the car as much as the exterior, but Ian is a different case. He put just as much time into the interior as he did the exterior, starting with his black Bride XAX II seats. A full range of Sparco parts were quickly assembled onto the car that vary from the Flash 5 steering wheel, shift fnob and custom harness bar. To keep him firmly planted in his car he, quickly installed some Takata Racing harnesses, giving it a nice contrast of green on black. A well built car isn’t complete unless it has an arrangement of gauges inside the car to ensure proper engine management. An array of Blitz I-D gauges and electronics line the interior of the car, from the boost controller, power meter, turbo timer, boost gauge, oil pressure, and exhaust temperature. With all of that, you wouldn’t think he’d have room for his 10lb chrome NOS Bottle, but there it is – mounted securely between the seats. Auto Design carbon fiber dash quickly accented the interior along with NR Auto White Faces and a set of Razo Aluminum pedals. Ian likes to save the best for last however, a full gunmetal leather and black suede interior by Superior Auto Trim (www.superiorautotrim.com) covers the inside from head to toe, setting this interior apart from the competition.
With all those gauges, you would think that this MR2 would be putting down some serious power. Well, you’re right. After much debating about what direction he wanted to take his car, he was able to locate a 1998 3rd Gen J-Spec motor from Japan. The car isn’t short on the list of power modifications either, starting out with a complete range of HKS products. Helping the motor produce more power is the HKS Super Dual Dragger exhaust system with a Works Power 3″ down pipe and HKS mid pipe. The head of the motor is secured with APR head studs and the HKS metal head gasket. Helping the engine run stronger and harder is the HKS Fuel Cut Defencer and sequential blow off valve. Ensuring that Ian has his settings right, he has his setup tuned through his A’PEXi Super AFC mounted inside the car. The madness doesn’t end there, Blitz once again came into play with their steel intake. Cold air is essential to any turbocharged motor, so a GReddy intercooler was added to provide cool air to the turbo, and two 12-inch Perma Cool electric fans were added to keep the operating temperature of the motor down.
With all that power, a good clutch was needed to control it. The ACT full race 6 puck was installed making sure that planting the horsepower to the ground would not be an issue. Having a powerful motor usually doesn’t always mean having a clean engine bay, and we’ve all seen how ugly they can get, but Ian made sure he didn’t leave anything out. Making sure the motor stood out just as much as the rest of the car, he had his firewall heat shield, inlet pipe, throttle body and the brackets for his intercooler pipes chromed. This well built motor hasn’t been dyno’d yet, but it is estimated that it will be pushing high 300’s, flirting with low 400hp when it’s all said and done.
With that serious power, comes a serious commitment to keep yourself on the road, and to help with that is a clean set of Ro_Ja Formula 7 Wheels, 18×7 in the front, and a wide 18×9 in the rear. The stickies wrapped around them are a set of Toyo T-1S 215/35/18’s front and back. Tanabe Sustec Pro-Series II coilovers give the MR2 its low drop. Matched with the coilovers are the upper pillow ball mounts, TRD front and rear sway bars and JIC Magic front and rear strut bars. To complete the suspension, a precision big brake kit was added, that utilizes Wilwood calipers. TRD stainless steel brake lines are used to insure proper brake fluid control.
As you can tell, this MR2 production is not only one of a kind, but a complete project at its best. After going through many different phases and transformations, it’s safe to say that this MR2 has gone well beyond setting trends. It’s set a statement that many followed for years to come.
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