You are not allowed to know whom these cars belong to. You are not allowed to know the owner’s name, age, exact location, occupation, hobbies, or what motivated these ridiculously amazing builds. Seriously. Why? Well, because that’s how they want it. Quite out of the ordinary, I know. You better believe that it would take quite an extraordinary set of circumstances for us at Import Tuner to even give this type of situation a second thought much less actually go through with it. But sometimes you just can’t say no. Sometimes the situation is so captivating and the car (in this case, cars) is so sick that you are willing to make an exception, throw convention aside, and just do it anyway. And this, my friends, is one of those situations.

Over the past 10 years, Subarus have turned into a staple of the automotive tuning industry. Starting as a more niche, specialty tuner car in the 1980s, Subarus have exploded into the mainstream with the introduction of the American market Impreza WRX in 2002, and then going on to become the focus of various motorsport events throughout the United States and worldwide. With the spotlight on Subarus in events such as rally racing and time-attack, it seemed only natural to see the aesthetic styles of these purpose-built race cars carrying over onto the streets and, ultimately, into car shows. Jeff Hill’s ’05 Subaru STI is one of those cars that takes the time-attack race car style and applies it to the medium of car shows, resulting in an almost undefeatable juggernaut in the local car show community of the Pacific Northwest.

The MKIII Toyota Supra is hardly an icon in the automotive world. It has neither a cult following, nor is it really ever in the media. Some may go as far as to say that it’s simply flawed in design. The main offending factor is simply its weight; at close to two tons, the suspension is completely overworked just by attempting to keep up with the rest of the car. The engine has its fair share of nonbelievers as well, the 7M-GTE is notorious for blowing head gaskets and is generally not sought after by any means, especially not to propel such a heavy car. Only a true enthusiast would even consider an MA70 Supra as anything but a beater to get through a few winter seasons. But Russel Rumbawa is, in every meaning of the word, a true enthusiast. As one of a handful of people around the world who have successfully modified this platform, exclusive may be an understatement. It took the 36-year-old from Hawaii eight years to get this car to the state that it is now, and the end result is nothing short of impressive.

Every automobile serves a purpose to its owner. To the vast majority of drivers this purpose is as basic as it gets, an appliance that moves you comfortably and safely from point A to point B. To a smaller percentage of automobile owners, their mode of transportation has a bit more significance; some sort of sentimental value is involved where there is a desire to make their vehicle more than just a commuter. Those who fall into the second category may devote more time into keeping the car looking its best, a little more of their paycheck changing or adding parts to the car in an effort to get it to perform better than it was designed to from the factory. A third category of owners—the smallest percentage yet—includes those who devote their entire careers to building cars to fulfill their absolute potential. This category creates the parts the rest of us utilize. Hideki Takaku of Reverse is one of these people, an individual who took his passion to the next level and allowed it to become his career.

By now, we’ve all seen photos of the Scion FR-S and the new 4U-GSE 2.0L boxer engine (from Subaru) complete with D-4S direct-injection technology. Simply stated, this engine is nothing like the EJ205/EJ257 powerplants we’ve been offered in the Subaru WRX and STI. The 4U-GSE four-cylinder engine has been engineered from the ground up. What about engine tunability, you ask? That’s an ultimate question the aftermarket world is dying to learn. Only time will tell; the FR-S and its newly introduced platform leave us with a plethora of questions that shroud us in a fog of mystery. Until the very first tuner shops begin tearing apart this engine, we’re salivating at the mouth of its true capability. With a mind-boggling 12.5:1 compression ratio and twin injectors, the 4U-GSE’s full power comes on at 7,000 rpm with 151 lb-ft of torque at 6,600 rpm.