We know what you’re thinking… Is that another Rocket Bunny kit? Hear us out, though you guessed correct! There are many reasons why we decided to throw this car on the cover, and no, one of them isn’t because we’re high (Except for maybe Matty Ice-SD). First, while many of the Bunny-kitted FR-Ss around are built for show, this Scion is designed strictly to the track-we’ll acquire more into that later. Second, our friends at Mackin Industries have put it together; you know, the organization that imports everything awesome from Japan such as RAYS and Yokohama wheels, Project Mu brakes and MXP exhaust systems. Mackin is additionally celebrating its 40th anniversary in the industry this coming year-they’re kind of a large deal! Third, this FR-S is crazy vibrant. You need to get your eyes checked if you can’t spot this car around the track or at a show. It screams for attention but righteously has the ultimate tuning package to support it, which is why it’s getting the attention it deserves here.
We sat down with Eddie Lee of Mackin, who is no stranger to Super Street having owned a couple cars that have graced our pages before. “With the FR-S, we wished to showcase each of our parts whilst showing many of the companies we collaborate with like KW and GReddy,” he explained. Before but it’s been four or five years since we did a car of our own, “We’ve teamed on top of these companies on a lot of cool projects. We’re all car guys here and we don’t just slang parts. The FR-S was the hottest car to build a year ago so we put everything we had into this project.”
Now if you’ve driven an FR-S or read enough reviews, you’ll recognize that the most common gripe is power. Leaves you begging for more, especially on the highway or accelerating down long straights, even though the 2.-liter four-cylinder Boxer engine isn’t a slug as it pushes out 200hp to the crank. Mackin knew it planned to develop the car for racing without taking away from the spirit of the FR-S, so they worked together with GReddy to fit its latest turbo kit. The kit comes with everything needed-T18Z top-mount turbo, exhaust manifold, downpipe, Airinx intake and front-mount intercooler. Matched with an MXP titanium exhaust, the FA20 threw down 230hp at the wheels giving the FR-S some much needed pep to its step. Plus with a lot more horsepower, a Carbonetic 1.5-way limited-slip differential was installed to aidthe majority of the modifications done to the FR-S were to improve handling and grip, hence the serious braking, aero and suspension mods. The brakes feature signature Mackin goodies from Project Mu, and both front and back use the newest Monoblock calipers along with Club Racer pads.
In front of the brakes is a staple of Mackin, Gram Lights wheels. The coupe also runs on Toyo T1 Sport tires however these will be switched for some thing grippy as soon as the car finally hits the track.
While all of us can spot a Rocket Bunny kit from a mile away, in addition, it serves a purpose allowing the Mackin FR-S to run a wider wheel and tire setup for additional grip, as for aero. They also swapped out your Bunny rear spoiler for any track-proven Voltex wing, giving the Scion better downforce. Once the aero was installed, Mackin didn’t skimp on quality and opted to paint the car inside and outhave also been an important factor toward gaining one of the most agility out from the car. So Mackin had the interior basically stripped minus Sparco seats and had a NASA-spec six-point rollcage fabricated by Evasive Motorsports. They also shed some pounds by replacing the entire, hood and trunk roof with dry carbon pieces-yes, the rooftop isn’t just an overlay, that’s real carbon, baby!
But the suspension takes the wedding cake. This car demonstrates the pinnacle of handling for the FR-S. Dropped on KW’s aggressive Clubsport coilovers, it’s also braced enough for supreme rigidity, zero body flex and minimum body roll. It provides the whole GTSPEC chassis package, which includes strut bars, control arms, subframe/fender braces and more. It’s also sporting some bulky Whiteline sway bars.
“This car feels good and doesn’t take from the original feel of the car,” Eddie concludes. “A lot of people say the FR-S resembles the handling from the S2000 however with less power. The turbo elevates our car past the we’ve and S2K developed all areas of performance to make it competitive.”
Having built one of the most track-ready FR-Ss in the world, the next step is to actually input it to good use. Eddie hinted it’s scheduled to race at the next 25 Hours of Thunderhill or something higher. For now we’re simply lovin’ it, though we’ll just have to see and wait.