It all started $100,000 ago when Jose Gonzalez was in search of a project car. The hunt for the project wasn’t an issue; however, the budget was. Gonzalez had crunched down his options to three vehicles: Datsun 510, Toyota Celica, and Nissan Hakosuka. Fortunately for Jose, a friend of his […]
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Baby Driver Grows Up | 800HP VAB Subaru STI
Everyone needs a good getaway car. What you’re getting away from is up to you. For some, it’s the need to eliminate a vehicle’s shortcomings; for others, it’s to escape the fleet of also-rans in a saturated playing field. In still others, it’s simply an escape from the banality of […]
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Single Cam Slammer | Insane Speed’s 717HP D16Z6 Powered Civic
Insane Speed builds insane cars. It has produced numerous high-powered vehicles from 1,000+ horsepower EVOs and Supras to twin-turbocharged Lamborghinis. Building insane horsepower is the company mantra, and the challenge of doing so just to prove that it’s possible motivates shop owner Todd Allen. This “can-do” attitude prompted Allen to […]
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Raceway Runner | R34 GT-R Built to Take on Fuji Speedway
Too many enthusiasts choose to spend money and throw parts at their car until something good comes out of it, without doing their research and without a goal in mind. The ones who do it right, however, know where they want the car to end up and can therefore map […]
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Cusco Rally STI | Cusco’s Stock STI Transformed to a Rally Race Winner
You’d be hard pressed to find any motorsport that pushes its drivers and cars harder than rally. Drivers, co-drivers (navigators) and their cars must drive for hours on end over the course of a weekend, navigating their way through off-road beaten trails, thick gravel paths, and stretches of tarmac. The […]
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Capabilities Enhanced | FEED’s Ever-Evolving 631HP RX-7
Good looks, turbocharged power, low weight, excellent handling, and a distinct sound, Mazda’s FD RX-7 of the 1990s had it all. The car’s unique power plant and timeless looks turned it into an iconic representation of the rise of import performance, making it a highly sought after platform among all […]
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Mixed and Matched | 1000+HP Nissan Stagea
Few car design concepts divide an audience more than the wagon. Some see wagons as nothing more than family cars and grocery getters, while others consider them a uniquely sporty aesthetic. More recently, wagons and hatchbacks have evolved into a somewhat popular design for a niche audience, but there are […]
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Show and Go | Signal Auto Evo X
Inspired by high horsepower rally machines of the 1980s and early 1990s, the battle between the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru WRX STI carried on for over a full decade. Both platforms kicked off in the early 1990s, sporting turbocharged four-cylinder engines sending nearly 300 horsepower through an AWD drivetrain. […]
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First Drive | 2017 Honda Civic Type R
After waiting over 16 years, there is finally a generation of Honda Civic that may become more popular to performance enthusiasts than the 4th, 5th and 6th generation Civics that led the import performance movement in the States. For the first time ever, this 10th generation of Civic will feature […]
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Engineering the 2ZZ-GE For Boosted Performance
Bigger, better, stronger, faster. It’s a simple mantra spoken by many performance enthusiasts. When it comes to increasing an engine’s performance, making it bigger (increasing displacement), better (more efficient), stronger (capable of sustaining higher power output) and faster (capable of higher peak RPMs) is a solid plan to follow. While […]
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600 WHP RIDOX Aero JZA80 Supra
Although we as enthusiasts appreciate and enjoy the power capabilities of the acclaimed 2JZ-GTE platform, we also can’t deny that high horsepower JZA80 Supras are a dime a dozen. Pristine builds don’t seem to turn heads anymore unless the car cranks out more than 1,200whp. Even then, few make the […]
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572 HP EVO 6.5 | Tommi Makinen Edition
There are few examples of the States getting a better version of a vehicle platform than the rest of the world. However, the first-generation (1G) and second-generation (2G) DSMs are an exception to the rule. While only FWD versions were available in Japan, AWD versions were available in the States. […]
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First Drive | 2017 Honda Civic Si
At the start of the new millennium, many performance enthusiasts went through a hard breakup with Honda. After years vested to one brand, the relationship between enthusiast and Honda went stale shortly after 2000. Honda simply stopped building Civics for enthusiasts. Within the DSPORT staff, we witnessed firsthand the parting […]
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Taniguchi’s 700 HP 2JZ Swapped GT86
If you haven’t heard of HKS, Daigo Saito and Nobuteru “NOB” Taniguchi, then you must be very new to the import performance scene. HKS has been Japan’s premiere full-line performance parts manufacturer since the 1970s. Today, HKS has reestablished a US presence and we expect big things in the coming […]
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Big Boost Supra Making Over 1,500 WHP
Producing big horsepower at higher elevations may seem like magic, but it’s actually a matter of making best use of the amount of oxygen that is available. Since the oxygen density is reduced at elevation, improvements and adjustments must be made in order for significant horsepower to be produced reliably. […]
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