On Friday when we were in SF I had the chance to meet up with JP and Jeff and their badass S2000′s. The cool thing about these two cars is that they’re both the same color car (silverstone) on the same color wheels (white) but both built two different ways. JP’s S2K is one mean track car that also sees its share of street time, while on the other hand Jeff’s S2k is slammed and has one clean stance for sure. Being a stance guy I can tell you the setup is pretty dope!

Let’s start with JP’s Car (front), this thing is just sick! I have a huge love for Honda’s being an owner myself. His track inspired build is definitely a clean one for sure. From top to bottom this car is fitted with the best parts an S2000 can have. When you look at the smiling face of this custom Amuse front bumper fitted with a one-off Evasive Motorsports Carbon Splitter and seeing that J’s Racing hood it already has that look of get the f*** out of my way. One of my favorite S2000 modifications are the ASM fenders which are fitted on this car and damn can he pull them off! Filling the wheel wells is a set of Volk Ce28n Time Attack wheels 17×9+35 on all corners wrapped in 255/40 Hankook RS3 Tires to keep this go-kart on the track. Behind those wheels you’ll notice the Spoon Calipers which really set this car off in my opinion.

Underneath the Mugen Hardtop lies a Mugen Roll Bar and a pair of Bride Zeta III seats. I love every inch of this car!

The meticulous build hasn’t stopped there. Under the hood lies a bunch of JDM goodies that any S2000 enthusiast would love to get their hands on. A J’s Racing header to an ASM SS 70mm exhaust makes this one great sounding car. I would truly love to see this thing on the track doing what it does best. This is one clean build for sure. From top to bottom every bit of it is just awesome.

Now on to Jeff”s car. This thing is badass too, the stance on this car is clean for sure. It looks straight intimidating coming down the road with that Spoon Super Taikyu front bumper just an inch off the ground. The stance is made possible by Function & Form Type 2.5 coilovers on Work Meister S1 wheels in an aggressive 18×9.5/10.5 setup.

Just like Jp’s car this also has the Mugen Hardtop and Downforce side diffusers. Jeff went for a very simple and very clean look on this car and i dig it!

JP and Jeff both have badass s2000′s and they fact that they’re matching makes it even better! Can’t wait to go back to SF and hopefully get the chance to shoot these cars again… during the day =) Enjoy!

The last time Larry used this particular dyno, he BARELY got the car on it.  So to make sure we didn’t waste time trying to get the car up on the rollers and got to spend all the time working with the tuning, some steps were taken.  Front bumper and sideskirts were completely removed and his Stance coilovers were raised.  To maximize traction the guys swapped out the Forged Specialties wheels wrapped in rubber bands for a set of OEM Nismo 370 wheels with some more meat on them.

Prepped and ready to head to the dyno.

Our destination was Mobile One, an Audi and VW performance shop in Glenview IL.

Made it up onto the rollers with zero issues.

The car was showing great numbers, and they were right around what the guys hoped they would see.

Project X’s Eli worked to squeeze as much power out as he could with the 18G Greddy Kit turbos being the limiting factors.

Not too shabby for 18lbs of boost.

Larry still wants more.

Until spring!

I’ve known Larry since he was working out of his home garage.  He’s now part-owner of a rapidly developing shop  that we all know here in Chicago as Project X.  They’ve repeatedly done fantastic work for me and are routinely active in the local community.  These factors are what made it extra awesome that I was able to shoot his Twin Turbo 350z  for the April issue of Import Tuner Magazine.

Larry is pretty hardcore, coming up from the Pittsburg hardcore scene it’s only fitting that his car looks like it wants to kick you in the face as well.

It’s not a trailer queen,  this car gets driven on a regular basis when we aren’t suffering through Chicago winter’s here.  Letting 518rwhp sit neglected in the garage is a terrible waste.   You’ll regularly see Larry’s monster at Chicagoland car get-togethers as well as shows like Another Level, Wekfest Chicago, and most recently at Tuner Galleria .

Larry’s car boasts a 1 of 2 front exit plenum setup.  The other is currently on the Fontana Racing Nissan 350z.  This combined with a custom front mounted intercooler setup makes this 350z an extremely unique street car.

Larry was running a pretty aggressive wheel setup last season, this one is even more aggressive.  He’s rocking a set of Forged Specialties SC-6 wheels.

Stopping power is provided by a 15″ rotor setup and a WP Pro 8 piston caliper up front, 6 in the rear.

If Larry had one wish it would probably be to GT wing the world.  If you ever talk to Larry at the shop or at a meet, 1 out of the 3 of the first things he’ll probably say to you are “hey, you know what you should do to your car?  Put a GT Wing on it. ”  And if it were physically possible, I’m pretty sure he’d try to attach a GT Wing to Eli’s beard.

So all that said, you should go to your local magazine stand and pick up a copy of the April issue of Import Tuner Magazine and read up even more on Larry’s car and see even more photos.  You should then head to Project X in Schaumburg and ask Larry to sign it.  Because he loves that kind of sh*t.  While you’re there give Eli’s beard a tug and see if they can do something cool to your car for you.  Congrats again, Larry!

Michael Brauner was generous enough to let us use his Evo X in the project.  Always been a huge fan of this car.  And I’m VERY excited to hear Mike talk about which direction he wants to go with it for next season.  I think it’s safe to say his car will be back up on this blog looking even more bad-ass in the future.  But enough about Mike’s car.

It’s all about these two ladies.  Both beautiful, both a joy to work with, and the best part is both of them are car chicks at heart.

Lauren recently told me she’s considering only continuing to model if it’s with cars.  I failed to see a problem with this.

Cherry is a sweetheart.  But then she also tells me she’s going to steal my cat.  I am unsure.

Lauren’s heels almost matched the Evo perfectly.

I showed up to find a group of people who had also caught the news gathered around it.  My instinctive reaction was to start setting gear up.  The entire time I wanted to just stop and enjoy the view, as everyone else was.  But I knew there’d be plenty of time for that.   The car had just arrived from Detriot, I was told.  My first assumption was “auto show”.  But after checking out some coverage of the show I didn’t see this particular car there.  My guess is it was a demo car at the auto show.  But again, pure speculation.

The first thing I noticed was the Designo Matted finish.  Some love the flat finish, some hate it, i personally think it’s fantastic and is always a joy when using flash photography.  European plates were either for show or proof that this was a demo car shipped here from MB that was still plated for Europe.    Google searching showed a few cars with similar plates, in Germany.

There were no badges on it.  No indication of what trim of SL it would be.  But going by the MB website, the only future SL model is a 550.

A quick peek under the hood revealed a potent little powerplant.

V8 bi-turbo was pretty clear at this point.  MB’s website quotes a 4.6l bi-turbo v8 that puts out 429hp and 516ft/lb of torque which rockets the aluminum body to 60mph in 4.5 seconds.

With that kind of performance from a SL550, I get giddy when I think about what an AMG package would have in store.

Stylish 5 spokes filled up nicely with drilled rotors and a decently sized caliper.

The interior is everything you expect from a new Mercedes.  Leather wrapped everything, brushed aluminum, and gloss finishes.

Everything driver oriented, but as expected, no manual transmission here.

Definitely one for the portfolio.

Our first event of 2011 was Tuner Galleria, part of the World of Wheels expo at the Stephens Convention center In Rosemont.  I snapped this candid of Official Team Need for Speed DJ, Miki Taka.  She gorgeous!

And this shot of Miss Formula D 2010 & Import Tuner cover-girl Melyssa Grace.  The cars there were so-so.  A lot of regulars, and some questionable entries.  But it was a good time, and we made some great contacts there.  Looking forward to the 2012 event!

By March, it was still freezing cold here in Chicago, but that didn’t stop an early morning photo shoot with 2 slammed 350zs.  This wound up being a small feature on JDMChicago.com

This season I began contributing to Fatlace.com’s Slammed Society.  My first feature was of my good friend @ Project X, Eli’s, supercharged G35 sedan.  Such a fantastic car.

Nobody is happier for the return of spring than the local car community.  May kicked off the season opener event for Supercar Saturdays.  And of course, us here at thephotomotive.com were asked to provide the official photography.  This event gets better and better every year.  The location changes, but the people and cars are always outstanding.   The above 20th Anniversary Diablo SE was one of my favorite cars of the year.

My favorite part about these events is they attract everyone.  From your seasoned gearhead to curious early morning shoppers who just so happen to stumble upon this amazing gathering on the first Saturday of each Month.  This candid of a son cleaning the wheels on his dad’s F430 is priceless.  Nothing pleases me more than seeing the beginnings of a new car enthusiast.  Hey, everyone’s gotta start somewhere right?

I’ve watched Chad Rapper’s G35 transform from a bone stock Diamond Graphite Coupe, to the Nissan Sport Magazine cover car you see here today.

Photos from this shoot wound up being used to represent these particular wheels for Work Wheels USA’s website, and also were very appreciated by the guys over at Touge Factory who did some recent work on this car.

I began a new job this year.  I was hired by a Mercedes Benz dealership here in Chicago to be their inventory photographer.  What was a crap shoot on a random, non-descript job ad turned into one of the most fun job’s I’ve had so far.

This Lotus Elise was one of those cars that made me stop and stare.  Perfect execution.  Only at Supercar Saturdays.

Another of my Slammed Society features was Sergey’s MR2 Turbo.  A local favorite, some of my photos of it wound up being printed in a Russian Tuning magazine, but I’ll get to that later.

Where do I start with Jay’s Nismo 370z.  This car was built by my friend Jay with the help of my good friends over at Project X.  This car is spectacular.  Yet another feature for Slammed Society.

Angela’s S2000 is one of the best looking cars in Chicago.  Another Slammed Society feature.

Ron’s 350z is perfect.  Tastefully modified, aggressive, and has the power to back up (if not surpass) the looks.  Ron was one of the first FI 350zs I had seen in person, and it remains one of my favorites.  It’s gone through subtle changes since I’ve known Ron, but always for the better as it’s always looking top notch.

My first event of the season was an open invite drift/Auto X event at Rockford Speedway, aka the Thunderdome.   Above is Terry Gearin sliding like a boss.    Below, my friend Danny giving the crowd one of the best runs of the day in his SC

Such a great car.

One of the most difficult aspects of Supercar Saturdays is constantly accomadating the insane turnout we get, from both those eager to show their cars, to the crowds.  As a result we switched our location again to the Promenade in Boilingbrook.

The usual suspects still came, along with a lot of new rides who were excited to finally have SCS close to them.  This Ferrari F430 is one of my favorites.

Another Level is a car show aimed to steer away from the corporate run shows like Hot Import Nights, and return car shows to more of a friendly gathering than a money maker.  Pictured above is Mike Braeuner’s Evo X.  You’ll be seeing some more of this car soon.

The event is always a success and has a fantastic turnout.

One of the more anticipated shows of the year was the Wekfest stop in Chicago.  Lots quality local cars, and some who traveled quite a ways.  This Four Six Customs Touge Factory S13 was one of the show stoppers.

Speaking of show stoppers.  Hi Bryn.

The Air Show in Chicago is one of the events I look forward to each year.   Insane crowds, but its worth standing down on North Ave beach in front of Castaway’s to get shots like this.

Too much fun.

Where do I start with Kristin’s Genesis.  Basically, it has a cult following.  The NOTATIB car.   Not bad for a girl’s car eh?

There’s nothing like getting to work and learning you “have” to photograph a McLaren SLR.

Shooting in the rain is a beautiful thing.  Sure, you’re soggy and cold, but hey that’s all part of the gig.   This shot from Global Time Attack is one of the favorites of the year.  So much that It’s printed 24×36 on my wall.

There are so many little details that come with shooting in the rain.  It’s visually one of the most interesting in my opinion.  It amazed me how much spray was captured in the photos.

Summer came and went, with us unfortunately not attending NEARLY as many events as we did last year.  However that didn’t stop us from having fun and getting to shoot some amazing cars.  Above is Sergey’s MR2 again.  This photo above was part of our shoot for a Russian tuning magazine, which just recently was sent to Sergey!  Can’t wait to see my copy in person.

I snapped this from atop my work.  I just love how beautiful this city is at night.

As promised, Jay’s Nismo Z is back .  This time I collaborated with UMG (Unscene Media Group)’s Mike Maravilla for a Photo/Video Collaboration.

Hands down one of my favorite cars of the year.

Another Project X creation, and highly anticipated build, was Larrys twin turbo 350z.  I wish I could post the better photos of this car, but I sadly cannot until his Import Tuner Magazine feature comes out in January (what a horrible problem to have haha).  Keep your eyes peeled for the feature on news stands and here around mid January!

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Mike’s Evo X is back.  I photo’d this car along with two lovely ladies some months ago, and it is currently waiting to be featured on Canibeat.com  Once that feature comes out, you will be able to enjoy a full set of this car with Lauren & Cherry.

Speaking of the Devil…helllloooooooooo Cherry.

It’s definitely been a fun and busy year, and it’s made us really want to push harder to do even MORE for 2012.  Expect to be seeing a lot more from us here at thephotomotive.com.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in these shoots, viewed them, and shared them. Stay tuned for next year!
Click the photos or the links to view the full set or high res images.

Keep an eye on the site and my Flickr, big things coming!

1. The first shoot I did this year was of my fathers “Garage Bar” so I could share it with some friends. Full set here: Randy’s Garage Bar

2. My first real attempt at a “product” type photo.

3. The first motor-related shoot I did was of my friend at the “Moto on Ice”. Full set: Moto On Ice Race