When I picked up my 2010 Toyota Prius, the whole point was to finally own a car I just drive. No project, no parts list, no late nights in the garage, just a reliable daily that wouldn’t cost me a fortune at the pump. That was the plan, anyway. As someone who has modified every single car he has ever owned, the plan did not survive contact with reality. It lasted about as long as it took me to start browsing for parts.
It started innocently enough, the way these things always do. A conservative set of TEIN springs went on first to bring the ride height down, followed by a set of 18×8 +43 Work Meister S1 three-piece wheels with a gold center and a bronze lip. In my head, that was the whole build. A clean drop, a nice set of wheels, and I would leave it right there.
The scene had other ideas. Around that time hybrids were becoming a hot thing, and Tokyo Auto Salon was suddenly full of modified Priuses. It also lined up with the exact moment when wrapping cars went from novelty to everywhere you looked. RJ de Vera was building a Honda CR-Z while working at Meguiar’s and Wraptivo, the two of us connected, and the idea snowballed into a plan for a dual shoot in Super Street, the Prius and the CR-Z together. Once there is a magazine feature on the line, leaving a car alone stops being an option.
With the shoot in mind, I started sourcing a body kit and fell hard for the Aimgain one. I actually ended up getting the kit off Aimgain’s own demo car, since they wanted a car to run at SEMA. Unfortunately, timing didn’t work out for us. The kit and the wheels did not make it in before the show, but once everything finally landed, the kit went on and Daley Visual laid down a matte white wrap to pull it all together.
From there the car went to HKS for coilovers and an intake. The plan was to run an HKS exhaust as well, but the Aimgain rear bumper and its Lexus LS finishers interfered with the fitment, so that piece never made it on. To round things out, I had a custom interior done by Infinite Auto Design. So instead of a SEMA debut the Prius was on display at the Meguiar’s and Wraptivo booth at Formula Drift Long Beach.
I shot the Prius myself for Super Street, and for reasons the feature never ran. While digging through my hard drive for remastered shoots, I came across the photos and realized the Tunerzine Project Prius had never been published anywhere, by anyone. So here it is, finally, years later than it should have been.
Gallery
