When Lexus brought the IS 300 to the market, the company had one goal in mind: Dethrone the BMW 3-series as the dominating force of the compact performance sedan class. While many can argue about the unique "feel" of the IS or its unflappable Japanese reliability, the consensus has shown that the IS still has a few more steps to take in order to live up to its mission statement. Nonetheless, the baby Lexus is certainly a solid performer.
It's relatively lightweight (for its class), has a powerful six-cylinder connected to a rear-drive chassis, and is (on later models) available with an enthusiasts-pleasing manual tranny, which all adds up to a car that leaves its drivers grinning with delight.
A grin, however, is not something that a tuner wants. Grins are for grannies. Oh sure, they're fantastic if all you crave is a car that's competitive in its class, but you want something with cajones, a car that'll make your eyeballs swing from side to side like a pinball and leave your head feeling like you just woke up from an all-night binge party. You want a car that'll make you drool just staring at it and hurl when you finish driving. In short, you want a car that'll make you car sick.
Henry Potacki must know this feeling well. Not only did he employ the tried and true engine swap mod for more power, but he also added a turbo and a nitrous system that brings the power up to an estimated 650 hp. If 650 hp isn't enough power to make you carsick, you're in need of some serious electric shock therapy.
To reach this level of power, Henry turned to his buddies at Turboeast in Mount Airy, Maryland, for the engine buildup, which took a V-8 from a `99 GS 400 and stuffed it inside the IS's front end. Turboeast then swapped the camshafts for those from a non-VVTi Tundra pickup and added a bunch of custom parts, including an intake manifold, an air intake, a throttle body, and a turbo manifold. The turbo itself is a custom-made Garrett piece, while TurboXS supplied the blow-off valve and TiAL supplied the wastegate. A custom front-mount intercooler and 6061 aluminum tubing sits prominently up front, and brushed aluminum and custom powdercoating can be found underhood for the all-important engine bling. Sending the power to the rear wheels is a custom-built five-speed race transmission with an IS body and a GS Bell Housing. Oh yeah, there's also a fully programmable PCS transmission control unit that controls line pressure and optimizes shift points.
All of these changes are indeed enough to push you past the point of queasiness and into barfdom, but if you're looking for a classic Team America-type spillage, you'll have to switch on the nitrous. The single fogger, 70-shot Wet Kit is comprised of a 10-pound bottle in a custom holder, a bottle blanket and heater, a remote purge and bottle opener, a bottle-mounted pressure gauge, and a NOS blow down tube. Yes sir, with the new engine, Garret turbo, and NOS all working hard, you'll definitely want to keep an airline bag handy.
Bringing the car closer to street level are Sprint Performance springs up front and custom ASG Sport Tuning springs in the rear that lower the IS a modest 1.4 inches. To stabilize the car, and more easily perform stomach-turning steering maneuvers, Henry added Eibach antiroll bars front and rear, a carbon-fiber JIC Magic front strut brace, Cusco front and rear body braces, and a Turboeast rear chassis brace. 18-inch Enkei RS-V wheels in BFGoodrich KDW tires keep the car planted to the road, and Race Concepts drilled and slotted rotors work with ubiquitous EBC Green Stuff pads to end unwarranted vehicular motion; you're still on your own for head spins and other bodily movements.
The car's exterior, however, will thankfully allow you to keep down your lunch. Thunder FX in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the company of choice to add the D-Speed Falcon front bumper that's complemented by the L-Sportline inverted side skirts and rear bumper. The rear door handles were shaved, as were all the locks, and the rear fenders were rolled out to afford room for the aforementioned wheel and tire package. A Blitz grille is surrounded on either end by custom-built black and chrome headlights, and the carbon-fiber/Kevlar hood was spared the raw treatment by having its sides painted with the PPG yellow hue that adorns the rest of the car.
As you have probably already noticed, Henry didn't change much of his IS's interior. The seats are stock, as is the upholstery and carpet, but he did add custom ASG door panels and a JDM gauge cluster. The center console was painted yellow and black, and GReddy silver-faced gauges were added for boost, EGT, and engine and tranny temp. The real fun in Henry's car, however, comes from the ICE. First there's the programmable PCS touch-screen engine/tranny monitoring unit and date logger, which we could stare at even if nothing was displayed. There's also a pretty nice audio setup that consists of an Alpine head unit and enough Polk MOMO products to fill a catalog. The car houses three amps, a pair of 6x9s in the front doors that share space with 6.5-inch coaxials, and 6.5-inch components in the rear decklid. Finally, the trunk is home to two 12s and one 10, with the spare tire well being used for the third sub. Tsunami wiring connects all the components to ensure every passenger enjoys the benefits of decreased hearing.
There are plenty of cars on the road the will make you stare and yearn to drive fast, but it takes a truly special vehicle such as Henry's IS to twist your insides and make you love every minute. It has the right combination of power, handling prowess, and looks to make you sick with envy, but with a car this seducing, the prospect of being sick never looked so good.