While looking around for a car in 2002, Chris was informed about a good friend that had traded in his '01 IS300 for an incredibly desired, '02 Escalade. What he knew about the IS was concise- 2001. Blue-Purple. And clean. Well nobody wants a purple car, but perhaps this one was worth looking at. He took the drive away from the shore area and headed to Atlantic City only to be introduced to a 2001 Spectra Blue Mica IS300 with black interior and graphite polished wheels; LSD for those who were wondering as well, and under 7,000 miles. Only a few of these have survived the test of time from what he's learned, so this one stays treasured in his garage for weekend getaways and cruises to meets, races, and shows.

He daily drove the car for about a year and threw on a quick 10,000 miles; too many for his eyes. Acquiring the infamous 'beater' car, he put the IS in the garage and began work on it. Performance was enhanced first through an SRT Intake with the R-ECU, a good modification, but the 'mod bug' began for more power. Staying normally aspirated for now, the exhaust was modified with a Toyomoto header and y-pipe, a DTM motorwerks b-pipe, and bringing up the rear was an HKS Dragger II rear-section. Not to mention that power was added through his Titan Motorsports Exhaust Cam Gear installed and tuned by Swift Racing Technologies in Maryland. The grounding system was improved through the Teck 12V cables.

Now that the engine was where he wanted it to be for now, he claimed fame inside with five screens, all custom fitted into his headrests, visors, and one for himself sitting in the top of the dash via a JDM dash tray. All of the screens are wired to a PlayStation 2 mounted on the passenger side atop a PLP passenger footplate and sound can be heard through his Radio Frequency modulator in his head unit. The interior was also dressed up with a set of Sparco Clubman 3-point harnesses for the front. These installations were sponsored partially through Dynamic Productions in Jersey.

Moving along to the outside now, this is where Chris takes his pride. Personally detailing the car for every show and walk-through, Chris has taken extra care in the paint and its deep blue metallic paint; a complement to the car in itself. After all, it is where he got his idea for his license plate, reading: INTNSIS, or to you: Intense IS. He says it was a compliment he got on the paint being "intense blue" and he never forgot it. Dressing up the paint more however are the custom painted lights. Chris wanted to take away from the "clear" look and deepen everything. Through the IS forums, he delivered his taillights, headlights, fog lights, and sidemarkers to California where they were painted a flat black with chrome rings around the border of the lights; a touch Chris says that without, his car would be "off". After everything was painted and shipped back, he got the fog lights wrapped in Yellow 3M film by Vigg Designs in Freehold, NJ; just to throw that 'touch' in the front end. Swapping the grille for a darker 2004 grille,the front end of the car can be mistaken for an earlier edition, but have no wonders because this color was only offered in '01.

The front is also spruced up with a Wald front lip and a custom painted carbon fiber VIS hood. The wheels were chosen through a deal on the IS forums, and are 18 x 8" TSW Catalunyas wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 tires.

Finally, stopping this garage queen is the Rotora sponsored cross-drilled rotors, Axxis Ultimate brake pads, and stainless steel brake lines; a mod Chris personally loves. Besides the ultimate power in braking capacity, the look that the cross-drilled rotors set off on the car was phenomenal.

Altogether this garaged car sits pretty with less than 37,000 miles on it and still going strong on 5+ years old. He has had no problems with this car and only success has been achieved through five trophies throughout north-east car shows. He plans on boosting this dream car to a moderate power throughout the next couple of years and finishing the kit (sides/rear) along with a roof spoiler and/or trunk spoiler. Anyone interested in buying this car better have a 1995 RX7 in hand, because he is not parting otherwise.

Special thanks to my family, friends, and the whole northeast crew…you all know who you are.