NAME: ALBERT LIM // AGE: 22 LOCATION: AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: SALES REPRESENTATIVE

NZ Performance Car : Hey, Albert. Tell us how you came to own this STi.

Albert: When I was younger, my first car game was Need for Speed Underground 2, and, like everybody else who had the game, [I found] modifying cars pretty cool. Slapping on bodykits, putting decals all over your car, and driving it around was a good beginning to getting into real cars. My original plan was to look for a Mitsubishi Evolution VIII or IX, but, at the time, they were really hard to find. My second option was to get a Subaru. During the search, I went to a few dealerships, and I saw this hatch parked out front of one. I liked the look of it straight away, and it was the perfect colour for what I was imagining, so I bought it.

What was the plan for it?

I wanted to make it the best-looking STi hatch out [in] east Auckland, so I tried my best to do that. Went through many different wheel setups, from a track style to a stance look. Just trying out a few things that I hadn’t seen anyone else doing here yet.

Is that why you chose to go widebody?

Yeah, as time passed and more hatches start[ed] appearing on the roads, I had to do more to make it stand out. That’s why I decided to go for the Varis widebody.

Has it been more of an aesthetic build over performance for you, then?

Yes and no. The plan changed many times, and I was stuck between modifying the exterior first and modifying the engine to get more power. Eventually, I decided to do all the exterior stuff first, and slowly bought bolt-on pieces for the engine to squeeze a bit more power out of it.

So, next is an engine build?

I plan to wrap the car to make it stand out a bit more, and possibly install air suspension, but yeah, then I’ll forge the engine with bigger injectors, bigger fuel pump, bigger turbo, and a front mount — hopefully enough to push a safe 350kW.

Solid plan, Albert.