During the original ownership, Alex had painted the S14 in a metallic grey and had it sitting nicely on a set of the SSR SP3 wheels. Despite the S14 already being clean and tidy, Alex wanted to take it to the next level and build the car he’d always wanted and to leave a unique mark on it once it was done.

Starting with the body, Alex both prepped and painted the entire car himself in a custom pearl red with PPG vibrance clear to give the car a mirror finish ontop of the deep, bold colour underneath. With the help of some friends in the industry, Alex also had the rear quarters pumped and the genuine Kouki body kit aligned perfectly during the body restoration process.

With a bit more space to play with, the original SSR’s were swapped in favour of wider Work VSXX wheels which give the car a great stance. Dmax headlights, taillights and Ganador mirrors complete the exterior look.

The car is not all show though and like the plates suggest, the outside appearance is only a teaser to the powerhouse under the hood. His brother Andrew at Malibu Mechanical led the engineering front for this build and was responsible in all things motor, exhaust and wiring – not a small feat and one that Alex says he is eternally grateful to his brother for. Opting to leave the bottom end stock meant that everything else needed an overhaul to achieve the power that Alex was chasing.

Kelford 268/272 cams, 1650cc injectors, Hypertune inlet manifold, billet fuel rail system and throttle body are some of the goodies helping to support the Garrett GT3584rs produce a comfortable 350kw at the wheels. Alex says the goal is to go for the 400kw later in the year, and to help get all of that power to the ground is a built 3 speed C4 800hp rated transmission. Taking the opportunity to do the engine bay tuck and shave he’d always wanted, Alex was left with a bare canvas to plan out the best piping routes for the intercooler, exhaust and radiator.

Capping off the mods to the car is the completely reupholstered interior in black suede and red stitched accents to go with the car’s exterior. Bride Stradia’s were given the same upholstery treatment to blend in the bucket seats to the rest of the interior. While words are limited in describing the cleanliness of the interior, hopefully the pictures do it justice and if that’s not enough to convince you, Alex’s S14 also netted the Hot Import Nights 2019’s Hottest Interior award along with other accolades from the night.

With most of what he wanted to achieve in his second chance of ownership, Alex says there may be some minor changes in the future but at large he’s keen to just enjoy the car for what it is.