Serenity. Seems that's the mood Dave is in these days. Rightfully so too, since gone are the days of him tearing up the now defunct Wallerfield drag racing strip with an 11 second Silver GC8 WRX with downright obnoxious red wheels.
Then again, maybe he's still ready for battle, considering his latest project kinda reminds me of a Storm Trooper!
Either way Dave's latest project is one seriously wicked WRX STi. See, lately, Dave is known by many to be 'Subaru Dave' since he has sold many, many RORO Subarus and Subaru OEM and performance parts through his business, Faiz Auto.
Now strange enough we didn't even contemplate showcasing this car, more than likely cause we've only had fleeting glances of it here and there. But one night, last week, or was it last month, Narend from Zorce Magazine and I stumbled out of a very packed TGI Friday's tryin to remember where we parked and right there, in the mall car park, this amazing looking white and carbon STi Spec C Type RA stuck out like a pair of double D's between the grocery getters and SUVs.
We'd seen this car before, at Wallerfield actually, in 2006. Alot had been done to the car recently so we called up Dave the next day to arrange a photoshoot of this car at his showroom down south. Even though we told Dave we were showcasing his personal car, being the enthusiastic fella he is, he made his guys wash and polish ALL the cars in the showroom, including interior and engine detail! What a great guy! I think his HR manager is still filing the complaint forms!
The car is immaculate in calm white only interrupted by seam lines and perfectly formed black carbon fibre. The carbon pieces make up the trunk, bonnet and rear wing. The body kit made by ? fits together perfectly in all white, including the white vortex generator that sits atop the rear windscreen. Dave said he contemplated getting carbon canards for the front bumper and we agreed.
Besides the tail lights, gold Brembo brake calipers and the trademark pink STi badges we could've very well photographed this car in black and white and it'd look the same way! See, there's good ol' Dave again, lookin out for those of you who seem to be colour blind and want to run every red light from Arima to Carenage. You bastards still get to enjoy the beauty of this car.
Even the 19" Axis wheels are grey. I'm sure if Yokohama made these 235/35/19 tyres in assorted colours including orange and purple Dave would still have chosen the black ones.
It's all functional. And that's really the best way to describe a Spec C Type RA. These cars are different from the regular Sti (if you can call a Sti regular) the Type RA has a quicker-ratio steering rack (13:1 as opposed to 15:1), a three-gallon water-spray reservoir for the intercooler, a stiffer sport suspension with beefier anti-roll bars, (upgraded further on this unit with a GAB fully adjustable shock strut system) a mechanical rear limited-slip differential, and a driver-adjustable electronic center diff. The torque split is set at 45/55 percent front/rear but can be changed to 50/50. Dave upgraded this with Cusco center and rear LSD's for a stronger and more accurate bite.
The Spec C is also lightened up from the Subaru factory by removing the air conditioning, power windows, power locks, radio, and even the passenger's sun visor! Not wanting to go without some amenities Dave installed power locks, a/c and a Clarion sound system. The windows are still not powered ladies, you'll just have to work those arm muscles.
Dave's car is not modified to the teeth as we may like to think, rather a few strategic upgrades like a 3" HKS HiPower exhaust system that really lets you hear that boxer engine rumbling, Projectµ rotors, a HKS AVC boost controller and a JSpeed ECU does the trick and keeps the car very driveable.
From the looks of things Dave wants to keep it simple, maybe gone are his days of massive turbos and 10 second street car passes. Who knows? This time around he's keeping it calm and serene, at least until his next project.
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