Athletic governing bodies are coming down hard on steroids and HGH, which has probably led to a glut on the market. Performance West Group appears to have bought up the entire surplus and injected it into a Ford F-350 dually in order to create the Striker. Part pickup and part Ford Mustang GT500KR, the Striker will be intimidating other vehicles at this year's SEMA show in Las Vegas.
The greatest tuning minds of our generation are assisting PWG with the project. Gale Banks is tuning the PowerStroke V8 engine above its 350 hp and 650 lb-ft. Hulst Customs is fabricating the bodywork. American Lightweight will be providing the aluminum 24" wheels. Katzkin Leather and Sony are doing duty inside to make sure you enjoy what will surely be a monster system in beauteous comfort.
PWG will then drape the entire thing in Striker Silver and Badass Blue and then probably let it loose to kill things. The rationalist in us wants to ask "What the...?" The auto junkie in us wants to stick it in the driveway and let it reek of testosterone. And then transform into a Decepticon. Which means we can't wait for SEMA.
Cobb Tuning has re-engineered its AccessPort control unit for the new R35 Nissan GT-R. For those of you lucky enough to own a GT-R and not content with its performance out of the box, the $995 AccessPort will reflash the ECU to any one of six different tuning levels.
There are three levels each for Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 can get you up to 63 additional ponies and 70 lb.-ft. of additional twist, while Stage 2 can boost the numbers by 70 and 90 respectively. The AccessPort can also save your stock ECU data and reflash it when you decide you're finished with all that extra gumption. According to a GT-R owner who tried it out, you can be blowing past all those regular GT-Rs in less than an hour.
And that's not all: you can store multiple engine mapping programs, remove trouble codes, install reduced-power valet and economy modes, and update maps over the Internet. It seems like a ridiculously easy proposition for making your supercar that much more super. So if you got one of those GT-Rs that are a little low on horses, this could be just the ticket.
Click above for more high-res pics of the Genesis DUB-ified
Who says you need to wait for Hyundai's Genesis Coupe to get your tuning freak on? Not the rims and system folks over at DUB, who took two Genesis (Geneses?) and kitted one out like, well, KITT, and the other kind of like a Stormtrooper from Star Wars. For an interior we can't exactly describe as attractive, the white one's not that bad -- certainly not as bad as it could have been. Still, following Wesley Snipes' advice from Passenger 57, we're going to bet on black. Check out the gallery of hi-res images below. Thanks for the tip, Hyundaifan!
In my lifetime, there has never been a single day in which I've wanted a Pontiac Sunfire, but a one of a kind tuner donated by Dallas Star defenseman Matt Niskanen is almost cool enough to own. Niskanen has owned the 2001 Sunfire since he was 15 years old, and the rookie kept it even after making the big bucks in pro hockey. The Sunfire was given a $12,000 makeover by Niskanen's more famous teammates, and Matt is donating the black and white coupe to benefit the family trust of ticket sales director Matt McKee. McKee died of cancer at age 33, and the team is pitching in by donating memorabilia and personal belongings to help his wife and young daughter.
Bidding is currently at $15,000, but if you're going to drop coin on this one of a kind Sunfire, you might want to be a fan of the Dallas Stars. Besides a tricked out sound system equipped with navigation, sub-woofers and black 18 inch rims, the Sunfire has a decidedly Stars theme. Hit the jump to view a video showing how the Sunfire was pimped out. Thanks for the tip, Scooter!
click above for more high-res iamges of the V8-powered Scion xB
Forget about body kits, custom fiberglass enclosures for your woofer and LCDs in the headrests. This is the only way to make the Scion xB entertaining in our humble opinion. Oh yeah, Scion wants you to think its cars are more fun than a box of rocks, but like Flava Flav said, don't believe the hype. We'll even forgive the fact that there's a big, dumb carburetor sitting atop the Chevy-based small block. This first-generation xB is owned by a guy named Rick, who apparently knows his way around plasma cutters, nibblers and welders. It's not quite finished yet, as evidenced by the photos showing a stripped interior and lots of zip ties, but Rick's Scion is already quite the sleeper.
Peering inside the engine bay, it's the tidy dimensions of the small block FTW. A transmission hump/center tunnel had to be added, and the chassis was converted to rear-wheel drive, too. Keep in mind, this is the smaller, original xB. The overinflated second-generation would have even more space in the engine room for this sort of chicanery. There's obviously some time and money spent to give this ho-hum little box a big infusion of epic cool, and we bet that's all worth it when you can take in the looks of discongruity as you blow the doors off the unsuspecting.
It's been made abundantly clear that Toyota is taking this year's SEMA show seriously, particularly since it's the featured marque at the event. But in addition to debuting the new Corolla and Matrix, along with releasing a number of factory-approved Lexus performance parts, it's tasked nine separate tuners with kicking the luxury brand's offerings up a notch, or three.
While most of the aftermarket firms won't unveil their creations until November, Blitz and BRS Autodesign have already released some teasers of what we'll see when we head down to Vegas. The BRS SC430 is pictured above and the Blitz'd GS430 is shown at right. Little information is available about either model at the company's respective websites, but we've included a full listing of what Lexus will offer up in the City of Sin after the jump.
Heico Sportiv has been putting a more stylish and powerful edge on Volvos for ten years, and they've applied their touch to the latest V70 and XC70 wagons from Gothenburg. With tuning skills derived from racing experience, the changes are more than cosmetic. Heico has developed suspension, brake, and exhaust upgrades that enhance the reflexes of the wagons. The restrained bodykit bolted to the EUCD platform cars is the most visible change. It's tasteful, though the ultra low profile tires and overkill-diameter rims look awkward to us. The interior gains extremely attractive two color seats and various aluminum trim pieces embossed with the Heico Viking helmet logo. We'll take the low and mean looking V70, though it'd be tough to go wrong with the more chromed-out and higher-riding XC70, as well.
Sometimes folks buy a slice of automotive history and put it somewhere safe, away from roads and crowds, so it won't get hurt. If you bought this particular example of automotive history, you'd probably lock it up somewhere safe because, like the folks who are selling it, you wouldn't actually drive it anywhere in public -- outside of Zacatecas.
What is it? It's a truly pimped-out Chrysler Voyager that miraculously survived this transformation on Pimp My Ride. Among the tasties included: black suede ceiling, triple flip down monitors, a 32" footrest monitor, denim upholstery, a lighted floor controlled by remote, lasers, and heart-shaped exhaust tips. Don't expect to haul much, though -- the back end is, of course, nothing but speakers. However, it does come with an advance mobility power sliding door for when grandma needs to get her pimp on.
If you saw the episode and you're really interested, you should know that it doesn't come with the Vroom Box. Whatever that was, it was only a prototype. So if you're a pimp with a family, you chariot is calling. And don't let being light on funds stop you -- the seller even offers a link for a loan.
We can't imagine having 780 HP on tap in a convertible, but 9ff has realized the ridiculousness and created what's likely to be the fastest drop-top in the world. The German tuning haus has taken the 997 Porsche Turbo convertible, stroked the 3.6-liter six to four-liters, modified every conceivable part of the motor, all in an effort to reach a top speed of 237 MPH.
On the outside, the only thing that distinguishes the TRC 91 from its "sedate" ancestry is a set of 20-inch rollers, upgraded brakes, a revised front grille to increase airflow, a couple of aero bits and a trunk lid made entirely out of carbon fiber.
The 4.0-liter mill was actually de-tuned from the hardtop model, which creates 910 HP and 671 lb.-ft. of torque, and allows the rear-engined rocket to make it to 60 just after you count to three. Insanity. But it's our kind of madness.
The scandal! German tuner shop TechArt might have thought it was Christmas when it unwrapped three prototype Porsche engines. Final Gear reports that two conventional engines and one "engine of the future" missing from Porsche's development center have been found in the custom car builder's garage, much to Porsche's irritation. TechArt maintains its innocence, stating that employees bought the engines in good conscience and thought they were getting conventional 997 engines. We don't know much more than that, but it appears so far that Porsche is taking the tuner to court for theft, and that two Porsche employees, and two customers, are in the slammer.
While most of the aftermarket firms won't unveil their creations until November, 
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