Driving Sports

It seems like everyday, I get an e-mail from some dude proclaiming that he has the fastest, most pimp, best-looking and most unique STI, ever. These e-mails usually have a parts list that stretches the length of the Great Wall and looks impressive — on paper, that is. Then we get to the pics. Usually there is some sort of garish carbon hood with lots of vents with mesh grill work, some sort of lip-like thing hanging off the bumper, a front mount and maybe even a wing. Most of the time, though, the car looks stock. And while we applaud all efforts, it takes something special to become a feature.

Amber Logston, who owns the beautiful silver piece of art before you, sent a very similar e-mail, except that when I looked at the photos, instead of yawning, I damn near fell out of my chair. Here is a car that not only has all the right bits, but bits that stand out in a way that screams, “Look at me!”

About now, all of you who hate anything that isn’t stock have already flung the magazine across the room. To hell with you; this car embodies “clean,” whatever the hell that means.

"Originally the plan when I got the car was to drive it and enjoy it,” said Amber. “But that itch inside would not stop tickling, telling me, ‘OK, let’s just drop it and get some wheels, then that will be it.’ Well, needless to say, once we started we could not stop! Next came a new, wingless carbo’ trunk, carbon hood, bolt-ons, suspension, Seibon carbon sideskirts and rear spats. My boyfriend and I were happy, the car looked fabulous.”

One of Amber’s dream parts was the oh-so-cool APR widebody kit. Of course, funds for something like that aren’t always on tap, so it was make-do-and-be-happy with a car that, for her, looked just the way she wanted. However, sometimes fate and tragedy have a way of intervening and turning nightmares into dreams.

“On the way home from a show in Houston I hit a huge 18-wheeler tire in the middle of the highway,” said Amber. “And not like I just hit it; a car kicked it up at me and all I could do was watch it come straight at my poor car. That, and I had just received a first place trophy at the show! The tire actually ripped off my Cusco front lip plus half of my bumper, split my sideskirts into little pieces, and dented my intercooler like crazy. After this happened I said to myself, ‘This is my time.’ I was determined to bring the car back, but better. I spent almost 10 months scouting for sponsors that had faith in my build. It was a long and expensive road, but it turned out even better than what I had imagined. I was in love with my new SSGT Widebody STI. My main goal behind this build was to express to the scene that the possibilities are endless and that different is good.”

The car is certainly different, but getting to different can take time, money and lots of patience. Installing a widebody kit and making it look “right” can be a very taxing and time-consuming process. Often times, it isn’t so much a matter of simply lining up parts correctly, but your body shop’s skill with a sander and filler. This, Amber found out the hard way.

“I went through two body men on this part and a ton of money.  It was frustrating to overcome the agony of not having my beast to be cruising around in; watching it go from scarred to beautiful took nearly four months. I was trying to keep it undercover, so when I got tired of the first body guy I picked up the car at night, took it to the new body shop, and parked it in the garage! As far as fitment, only a few tweaks here and there were needed, and the second body shop made the primer-gray beast a beautiful monster in a matter of two months. I must say the hardest thing to do, according to the body men, was to make sure everything flowed to make the car look as stock as it used to, just a little fatter.”

Keeping the overall “stock” appearance of the car was important, as Amber felt that the car already looked good from the factory. However, having a lower and wider version sporting fat, deep-dish wheels greatly enhances the sex appeal of any car, which is why the choice of the APR kit was so crucial. “All the other widebody kits available vary the look of the car too much, and I love the stance of the WRX,” said Amber. “I wanted to rock the WRX love with a wider stance, plus I always wanted wider wheels, since everyone in my team was rolling 10-inch or 12-inch rims on their Zs and Gs.”

While the most pronounced bits of this car are the wheels and the widebody kit, there are small touches that make the whole package what it is. When you see this car in your rear view, a Seibon carbon fiber hood will fill your view, as will the Seibon trunk as she goes by. You might also notice the APR front and rear carbon fiber diffusers, GT mirrors, and of course that big fat SSGT widebody kit. Then there are the little touches, like a Mine’s replica carbon fiber rear lip spoiler, a Ureshi Industries carbon fiber roof wing, and custom molded door caps. The carbon then continues with a Carbing Craft carbon fiber license plate backing. Should Amber ever need to be towed from the weeds, she can rely on her Nukabe tow hooks. The gorgeous body is dripping in DuPont Sand Metallic, with a black top. The interior is trimmed in House of Kolor Red Crystal Ice Pearl paint.

You can’t have a killer exterior without the interior to match. To that end Amber went about completely reworking the fabrics and seats, and even added a little bit of roll-protection (in a custom color, of course). To start, Amber installed a custom black carpet, which sets off the rest of the interior nicely and is a bit more trick than the stock blue carpet. The STI’s two-tone panels were then dyed completely black, as was the headliner. The STI blue on the rear seats was stripped off and custom black Alcantara was sewn in. Not content with the stock dash readout, Amber added a Racepak digital gauge cluster with carbon fiber dash insert along with a GReddy oil pressure gauge and Defi boost and air-fuel ratio gauges. While we all know that a turbo timer is just for bling, Amber added an HKS edition. No ride is complete without a touch of the “JDM Yo!,” so, Amber added JDM STI floor mats and a JDM hazard button. To let everyone know that this car means business, she installed a custom-painted Cusco seven-point roll cage with carbon fiber option bar. Driver and passenger sit in STATUS Ring seats covered in Alcantara,  which are mounted to Buddy Club Seat Rails. Directional duties are handled by a KEY!S black suede steering wheel.

Although this car is sporting some serious exterior and interior modifications, it is a bit tame under the hood. It still sports a stock block and stock turbo, although extensive enhancements have been made around the mill to extract more power from the venerable EJ257.

The VF39 turbocharger is fed by a custom intake system, which leads to a TurboXS front mount intercooler. To make sure that the VF has all the fuel it would ever need, a duo of Walbro 255lph fuel pumps feed a squadron of PE 850cc injectors. On the exhaust side, an Aqua Racing exhaust manifold leads to a TurboXS RFL turboback exhaust system. The engine also features a Vishnu crank pulley and NGK Iridium plugs. Other little touches include the Nitrous Express Ntercooler kit, Koyo Rad radiator, ARC titanium pulley cover, carbon Kevlar fuse box, GReddy radiator plate and Tein hood dampers. A pair of BATCAP batteries feed the car juice. Tuning is performed by an APEX’I AVCR boost controller and a TurboXS UTEC.

The suspension is also simple, but effective. A set of K-sport coilovers keeps the chassis on the road, and a Cusco front suspension brace keeps the strut towers tied together.

Some of the most visually stunning aspects of this car are the wheels. These are JLine pink chrome SDMSL2s measuring 19x10-inches. These are mounted on APR extended wheel studs and are wrapped in Hankook Ventus K107 245/35R19 rubber. The brakes are stock save for a set of Project Mu brakepads.

Amber has achieved what only a few can conceive, turning a mundane box into something truly exotic. To be sure, this car has what few others with more power have: visual cachet and instant sex appeal. While some may say that the car needs more power, a tuned STI is no slouch, and in many cases, less is more. “With the basic bolt-ons and the UTEC, the car is pushing around 300whp; fast enough to blast past 2JZGTE-powered Lexus’s and C5 Corvettes. I smile, since it was always a boy driving, they always get embarrassed when they get beat by me.”

So what lays in wait in this car’s future? “I am having a hard time deciding on whether to revamp the entire car for next year or start over, which would mean to sell,” said Amber. “Everytime I think of selling something that I put so much love, blood, sweat and tears into, I wanna cry! But the future holds a lot for my sponsors; after showing them the abilities of this car, they are ready for a new one. I have a car in mind, or I should say I have several in mind. I will just have to decide, but for this fat-ass car, the offer stands. If you wanna take it off my hands, then the new build can come forth more quickly. I always was one to wonder why people build a car, and then sell it. Well, I now get it! You have a legacy to maintain, people are expecting you to continue, and how far can you go with the same material over time? Get me?”

We certainly do, and we can only hope that Amber keeps things in a Subaru vein. For all would-be builders, Amber’s car should stand as a benchmark for what innovation and diversity really are. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting cars built by hardworking car people in my inbox. But I really like it when I get blown back by something that makes me think, “Damn.” The gauntlet has been thrown.

This article originally appeared in Subiesport Magazine. Photos by Chreeno Photo.

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