Let's face facts shall we? In today's day and age, it's getting harder and harder to find a build that has the complete package of performance and luxury. You either have the fully-built track cars or you have the cars with class. The luxury rides spend their days on the club circuit rather than the race circuit. The track cars soil man-panties and not the ones worn by the club breezies. That's just the way it is. The market tends to dictate what people are looking for and the masses want a track or show vehicle-never an amalgamation of the two. The IS300 you see laid out so elegantly before you however, represents a change in the tide. See, this IS has an aggressive streak and unlike a failed R. Kelly/Jay-Z mash-up, it is truly the best of both worlds.
The focus of this project was to combine luxury aspects to a track-worthy vehicle." Nate explains. "I chose the IS300 platform because I needed a car that had the lavishness and style to display my product." The product, if you're wondering, is custom high-end CNC-machined license plates for a company that Nate Davis operates known as: TrialOne CNC. "It's pronounced Trial-One 'Sensei', as in Trial-One master or professional." Davis states cleverly. "Get it? It's a play on words because 'Sensei' in Japanese means master." You don't have to lie to kick it, we didn't get it either until Nate explained it to us, but credit definitely goes to the man for being crafty with words. He's equally as crafty building cars. "I've been in this industry since 1995 so every single modification that I've done to this project is done with great thought and attention to detail. There's not one thing on this IS that doesn't hold a special meaning to me," Nate states.
"I knew that with the IS-platform, I had a car that possessed the handling and aftermarket support to transform it into a high performance vehicle for track-use." Getting the IS around the track in a decent amount of time posted a bit of an issue though. The 2JZ-GE that comes equipped from the factory is practically a twin of the Supra's GTE. Unfortunately, it's a twin in a sense that it's the Danny DeVito to the Supra's Schwarzenegger. To give the 2JZ some balls, Nate opted for boost with a Vortech blower. "I wanted power to be as immediate as possible while keeping the consistent boost and torque levels that only a supercharger can provide," Davis explains. "I knew that if I couldn't get the power I wanted, I could always swap over to a 2JZ-GTE. It's currently making 317rwhp and that's plenty for the track."
With all the power he wanted in his grasp, Nate turned his attention to the exterior. At a glance, the front and sides may not look at all familiar. That's because the TRD Qualitat Modellista aero package was never introduced here in the U.S. and they are so rare that even Japan and Europe had them only in limited release. He looked to Japan for inspiration once again when he copped a pair of Vertex 15mm overfenders. The widened fenders allow this IS to house staggered 18x8.5/18x9.5in Enkei RPF1 Type RC wheels. Behind the RPF1's sit a Rotora front and rear big brake kit which will increase stopping power once Nate hits the track. Improving its already capable handling prowess are A'PEXi N1 Damper ExV coilovers with the original coils swapped in favor of custom springs from Eibach. The rest of the exterior are a plethora of JDM Toyota knick-knacks including but not limited to; an Altezza sport spoiler, window visors, antenna and even JDM TRD rear mud flaps. M1 Autobody was responsible for creating a remix of the original Graphite Grey Pearl paint and adjusting it until it matched the Metallic Grey Pearl hue of a 2002 Porsche.