Occasionally you’ll hear about a project someone’s doing and it’ll resonate with you as being full of potential. You’ll forget about it – perhaps assuming that like so many before it the project got shelved for lack of funds, interest – whatever. Then a month later you’ll hear through a friend of a friend who knows a guy who looked after the dog of a guy who saw it at the next level of completion that it’s actually still on track and you’ll start wondering again. With no proof of progress for another period you wonder if the project is going to live up to the original intent. You start thinking “Well, I would’ve done this, or that” and armchair modifying someone else’s car. And then you see a photo before the car is entirely finished, that hints at the car going beyond what you imagined. Wayne’s STI is this type of project – the sum really is greater than the parts used in it…

I first met Wayne briefly a bit over a year ago at a really small-time show and shine. His car was having issues as I recall at the time, and his frustration after a lot of hard work already put into it was evident. The car looked great to my casual eye, but wasn’t running up to snuff. Below is what the car was like prior to Wayne rethinking the direction he was going in with the car (thanks Adam).

The process of transforming his already substantially modified 2004 STI into what you see here was a challenge. A whole other level of planning and coordination is involved in making such a change at once to a car. That said, a lot of the changes were last minute decisions – like the widebody which was almost done on a whim. Wayne decided what to keep from his old setup, and what to update. In the end there wasn’t much he kept the same. Even parts that were on the previous version of the car were treated to some serious attention – like the Seibon vented hood.

Pulling back from the rather tired look of a fully carbon hood, Wayne painted the hood leaving the scoop and vents exposed carbon – which looks stunning and makes it stand out even more than just leaving it all carbon would have.

Other standard Subie parts are the ubiquitous Hella horns. Loving the carbon grille they hide behind.

This car is very much about being custom and one-off. In addition to the hand-built wide front fenders, this trunk spoiler is really well done. Built entirely by hand and grafted onto a wingless trunk. This piece really lends to the overall stance and presence of this car. Despite appearances this car isn’t destined to be a show-queen. One of the primary goals for this car is to run the 1/4 mile in 10 the second range and not only does the normal STI wing make less sense in that application, it definitely doesn’t give the car the right visual lines. This feels inspired by a serious pro/street kind of setup. Not completely de-badged either; just a subtle “STI” in black in place of the big plasticky OEM badge.

How’s that for stance? Some people debate the idea of not blending the rear fender flare into the door with wide-body kits but I have to say that I think it suits the car better with the crease left unblended. I’ve seen this kit done both ways in the flesh, and I’ve now decided for myself that this is the better way, and it’s what I’d do if I had the coin. It keeps a bit of the ‘Mad Max’ feel of the wide-body intact.

In it’s present state the car is making a decent amount of power, but it’s far from using the potential of the build. Wayne opted to build the motor fully using top shelf parts which has made a respectable 404whp. The car is still in shakedown period though, and will be tuned soon for a proper amount of boost in the very near future which will make a serious increase in power.

The engine bay of the car is populated by some of the best names in the Subaru aftermarket – it’s like the online shopping wish list of every Subie owner exploded everywhere…

…quite literally. I’m not allowed to say any more though about the potential of this car’s motor, so lets go back to admiring the outside.

As you walk around the car you continue to pick up on the finer details that Wayne didn’t skimp out on. APR carbon wing mirrors continue the tasteful exterior mods that let the wide body keep your eye.

Other than the custom wide-body though, surely the mint set of Work Meister S1′s Wayne managed to score from an internet forum will satisfy even the most jaded JDM fanboy. The red lugs on extended studs also ad a bit of visual pop when the car is in motion. They coordinate with the tail lights on the blue paint nicely, not sure if that was intentional but it looks sorted.

How wide is wide?

The only addition I’d make to Wayne’s car would be a mid-size under-body diffuser like the HKS Kansai one. It’s so much easier to spend money when it’s someone else’s though isn’t it? The nice thing about the paint Wayne chose was how much it changed with the daylight. The darker it got outside the bluer it began to look. It’s not a colour shift or a heavy pearl, it’s just the way the super light blue reflects the sky and picks up the ambient light. You can compare the photo above taken earlier in the evening to the one below taken later for an idea of what I mean. You’ll simply have to take my word that I didn’t Photoshop in the deeper hue of blue in this next shot… I promise, it was just a very purple sky with a sunset on the horizon.

See? Compare the above two shots and you’ll get what I mean about the hue changing. Thankfully Wayne also intends to put the hurt on the competition with this car in coming road course events like CSCS… perhaps next season we’ll even see what times it can turn on Mosport with the boost dialed up.

As a parting shot I usually go with some rig shot or a pretty sunset shot but considering the uniqueness and attention to detail paid to this ride I think it’s fitting to end on an engine bay shot. You really have to marvel at the effort put into this car and from the looks of it, Wayne’s son will have  a great car to inherit.