Pop quiz: What do J-pop idol Ayumi Hamasaki and this Masquerade Subaru WRX STI have in common? Give up? They both started life with faces that not even their mothers could love. Just as Ayu-chan owes most of her success to the skilled hands of her crack team of plastic surgeons, this WRX can now enjoy a successful run as a stunning show car, thanks to the creativity of a small aero shop in Japan. As much as we'd rather talk about the woman, Super Street is a car magazine, so we must spend the next paragraph talking about the car you see here.
No longer cursed with a pair of Ayu-like bug-eyes or a flying va-jay-jay nose, this '99 WRX STI can now legitimately be called "pretty." Though Masquerade's primary goal for this car was to fit the widest set of wheels possible under those flared fenders, we feel that the fresh face is this car's most prominent feature. Despite this now-attractive Subie's radical road-hugging JGTC-inspired appearance, this 'Rex is street legal. Masquerade is also proud of the fact that this Subaru is able to easily climb up the driveways of local gas stations and combinis. Seeing the positive "after" results of both the singer and the car, we were almost tempted to get some work done on our own faces. Of course, we're already devastatingly handsome as is, and it would be a crime to ruin our natural beauty, so we'll leave the nose jobs to pop singers and Subarus.
Faster Facts
'99 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Owner Masquerade
Daily Grind maker of original body kits and tuner of cars
Under the Hood HKS Valcon 264 degree camshafts, Racing blow-off valve Type II, EVC4 boost controller, intake, header, cat, spark plugs; SARD fuel injection, fuel injectors, fuel regulator; Power Enterprise PE1820F turbocharger; ARC radiator
Drivetrain stock
Brains stock
Stiff Stuff Swift Springs (F): 6 kg/mm, (R): 4 kg/mm; HKS Hyper Max Pro struts
Stoppers stock
Rollers 19-inch WEDS BVILLENS TT7R (F): 9.5J+9, (R): 9.5J+6; Yokohama ADVAN Sport rubber
Outside '06 WRX headlight swap; Masquerade original wide body kit; Ray rear wing; Art Factory graphics
Inside Bride Zeta III seats; Defi gauges; MOMO Race steering wheel
Props Weds, Yokohama, Bride, Art Factory Graphics
WWW artfactory-inc.com; hksusa.com; mackinindustries.com (ARC); masque-rade.jp;nippon-seiki.co.jp/defishop (Defi);tees-usa.com (Bride); yokohamatire.com