my need for speed

a point in time comes where everyone (or most, rather) decide that they want to own and drive a car. it's no different for me, especially when i'm already 17 and i can get my license next year. the main purpose of young adults around my age of having a car would be to ferry their friends around and just have something to talk about. i'd much prefer something on top of that. i have been making plans to get my license the day i turn 18 (i.e. 27th March 2007), but right after dinner i realised how much it could actually cost. and on top of that, the car i wanna own would probably cause my parents to never, ever let me own a car my entire life.

i was having a conversation with my mum and jiang at hong kong cafe down the road from CJC a while ago. i was asking my mum if i could take it next year, and she told me it wasn't easy to pass, and moreover it costs a bomb. i was thinking of a few hundred bucks, but when i heard four-digit numbers i had to think twice about my plans. and we're talking about $4K or $5K here. oh well. my plans are dashed. not to mention the car.

but anyway i will still go into the car as the thought of it is just overwhelming. i'd like to start off by saying that i'm a speed demon, and i love speed and noise. i find that the family's 180-bhp Saab 9-5 2.0t isn't powerful enough. a standard toyota you see on the road is probably 90-bhp, and this may be double and has a light turbo but i still find it abit mild. besides, the look is more of a 'family' type of car. for those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about, i shall regurgitate all the info i know about such stuff. don't be amazed ; i'm a fanatic.

bhp is the short form for brake-horsepower, the measurement of power of a car's engine. they can be converted into simple kilowatts or watts, just like electrical power. it's the work done. by the engine. simply put, 1 unit of horsepower is 0.7457 units of kilowatts. still have no idea? here's some relativity then.

Toyota Corolla/Vios/Nissan Sunny (standard road cars) : 95bhp
Toyota Camry 2.0/Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 : 120-140bhp
BMW325Ci/Lexus IS250 : 200bhp
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX/Nissan 350Z : 300bhp
Porsche Cayman S/Carrera 911 : 300bhp
Mercedes Benz CLK 55 AMG Cabrio : 370bhp
Rolls-Royce Phantom V12 : 460bhp
Ferrari F430 : 490bhp
Lamborghini Gallardo : 500bhp
Pagani Zonda S 7.3 : 560bhp
Lamborghini Murcielago : 580bhp
Bugatti Veyron : 1001bhp (not for sale here)
Nissan Skyline R34 GTR: 1000bhp (illegal mods and banned here)

there you have it--the list of relativity. so now i shall start on what i want exactly. if my dad hears this he'll probably forbid me from owning a car for the rest of my life (sniggers).

since i love speed, i won't settle for anything less than 250bhp. i have placed my choice dream car on that of a Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2.5, which is a fairly common sight on the roads nowadays. i'm looking at the 2006 model, which has quite a bold facelift. also, having found my grounds in car modifications, i have decided not to drive a stock car ever. i have made a list of the possible modifications to my car, that is if i do get to buy one. and i don't really care if it's illegal ; i just bring it to the shop a few days before the inspection.

-stock-blue/white subaru WRX
-carbon-fibre GT wing
-low-lying bodykit with WRC foglamps
-carbon rear-end diffuser
-upgraded 1.5bar-boost turbocharger with turbo lag
-cross-drilled, ventilated brake discs
-frontal 4-pot Brembo calipers
-rear 4-pot AP Racing calipers
-20" gloss-white 5-spoke rims (possibly 5Zigen or MOMO)
-removed rear seats, Recaro bucket seats for the front
-MOMO racing steering with velvet/leather trimming
-custom on-dash dials with blue backlight
-chassis underglow light blue/white neon
-green engine neon
-shift lamp
-carbon-fibre bonnet with standard WRX air-scoop
-chrome exhaust muffler tip with at least 15cm diameter
-direct-port nitrous injection system with dual nitrous oxide cans and bottle warmers
-lowered hot-pink suspensions
-drift tires
-xenon tinted frontlamps with black eyelids
-tuned-ECU engine with at least peak performance at 320bhp
-any other vinyls/stickers that look cool

ESTIMATED COST:$350,000 with COE

yes, i have actually planned it down to such detail. although i may not be able to own one (which i think i won't be able to after i said this) i will still have fun planning such stuff for myself and others if they want to. and yes, i will go for street racing in town on week-nights. people who see this probably think i'm some ah beng or something, but the fact is i'm not. i think car customisation is an art itself. it gives us insights on how we can make such a simple moving vehicle look nice. and in my terms, a nice car is one that is looks fast, sounds fast, and is fast. i'll try to put a picture here to get as close as to what i like, but i highly doubt there is one that someone else already has. if you know of someone like that, save me the trouble of getting to the workshop and get that guy/highly improbable girl to call me for a test drive.

P.S. for you noise-haters out there, having and loving a car that is louder than a truck/bus on the road doesn't mean i won't pump up the bass as well. and it'll be the 'Tokyo Drift' soundtrack.