For someone who has been in the car scene for a while, it is beyond refreshing to see a person’s love for their car and a real and genuine love for the scene. Andy Kuo has owned and been building his 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX for over 11 years.

Andy’s mentality is function equals form, and his goal was to build a car that exemplified that symphonic harmony. Every part of the car serves to address a specific functional, or practical, purpose to meet his ideology.

Over the last decade, Andy has created a raw, time-attack and track-oriented daily driver that corners like hell, pulls hard, breaks necks and sounds utterly badass with the GrimmSpeed 44mm External Wastegate screaming under boost below the car. It certainly has the power, performance, and style we love.

Under the hood, Andy has kept things simple, yet efficient. His Stage 2 EJ255 is YimiSport Protuned putting down 302 whp and 324 tq at a conservative 17 PSI. A ported and polished VF39 is fed cold air from a ported and polished STi Top Mount Intercooler and scoop splitter. The Walbro 255cc fuel pump makes sure the car doesn’t get too thirsty. The exhaust is made up of a PDE Catless Bellmouth downpipe, and a Grimspeed 44mm External Wastegate Uppipe with dump tube. These are mated to an STi Genome Axelback to accentuate that Boxer rumble.

The Rally and JDM influence are evident behind the wheel with the myriad rare Prodrive pieces bolted on. From the Recaro Speed bucket seat, a rare JDM version 8 Prodrive STi gauge cluster is seen, complimented by an equally rare JDM STi 5-Speed shift knob. Wrapping around the interior is a full Cusco 6-point roll cage, and a Takata Racing harness secures the driver during heavy cornering.

Invisible but equally important, are all the suspension and chassis upgrades that help stiffen up the car. A beefy Cusco 25mm rear sway bar reduces understeer and sharpens turn-in response while Cusco bushings eliminate all the factory slop of the softer rubber bushings. The Cusco front power brace and rear subframe brace stiffen things up even more to make the car handle like it’s on rails.

The car sits on a set of BC Racing BR coilovers with gold 18×8.5 +48 Advan RS wheels. To fit the 235/40/80 Nitto NT05 rubber, front and rear fenders were trimmed and rolled, along with the addition of Cusco rear camber plates and Eibach rear camber bolts. The ICHIBA 25mm front and 3mm rear spacers push the wheels out to fill out the fenders, even more, giving the WRX an aggressive stance.

Other exterior highlights include a Chargespeed front lip, Chargespeed Bottomline side skirt extensions and the awesomely aero Chargespeed carbon fiber mirrors. At the back of the car is an SYMS spoiler adding downforce, Voltex carbon fiber rear diffuser, and a subtle Ureshi Industries window spoiler.

All around the car are subtle nuances that only a true Suby enthusiast would notice, such as the STi shifter trim, STi floormats, STi door decals and Type RA-R Pignose trim on the nose of the car.

“The car, as it currently sits, has been built strictly for my own personal gratification; not for any exposure, hype, fads or conformity that all too often undermines the community,” Andy said.

His ultimate goal is to reach a point where he can step back and be genuinely content with how the car sits in all respects. According to Andy, he’s nearing that point, and in the time he’s owned the vehicle he’s modified it in ways he could never have foreseen and is already far beyond satisfied with how it sits; not an easy thing to do.

Build Overview

Power/Engine:

YimiSport Protuned – 302whp/324tq @ a conservative 17 PSI

Ported and Polished VF39

Ported and Polished STI TMIC

STI TMIC Scoop Splitter

Walbro 255 Fuel Pump

Prodrive Cold Air Intake

USDM STI Genome Axleback

PDE Catless Bellmouth downpipe

Cobb Accessport V2

Grimmspeed EBCS

Grimmspeed 44mm External Wastegate Uppipe w/ dumptube

Tial 44mm V-band Wastegate

Agency Power Pitch Stop

Carbign Craft Carbon Fiber Alternator Cover

Motul 8100 X-cess 5W-40 Oil

Koyo Radiator

SouthBend Stage 2 Endurance Clutch

ACT Lightweight Street ‘StreetLite’ Flywheel

Goodridge Stainless Steel Clutch Line

ARC custom titanium burnt Alternator Shroud

Cusco Battery Tie-Down

Cusco Radiator Cooling Plate

Zero/Sports Engine oil cap

Zero/Sports Radiator cap

Zero/Sports Magnetic Drain cap

ARC Custom Titanium Burnt Alternator Shroud

Wheels/Tires:

18×9.5 +40 5×100 Concave Diamond Black TE37

18×8.5 +48 5×100 Advan RS Powdercoated Gold

Advan Low-type Centercaps

Project Kics R40 Neo-Chrome Open Ended Lug Nuts

255/35/18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports

245/35/18 Hankook Ventus Evo V12

235/40/18 Nitto NT05

ARP Extended Studs (front)

Chassis/Suspension/Drivetrain:

BC Racing BR Coilovers

Cusco 6-Point Full Roll Cage

2x Cusco Carbon Fiber Roll Cage Add-On Bars

Cusco Rear Camber Plates

Cusco Front Power Brace

Cusco Front Strut Bar

Cusco 25mm Rear Swaybar

Cusco Rear bushings

Cusco Rear Subframe Brace

Cusco Rear Diffuser Bracket

Helix Rear Swaybar Endlinks

Oswald Performance Rear ‘Triangle Brace’ custom tig welded with additional attachment points painted red

Eibach Rear Camber bolts

Whiteline Roll Center Adjustment kit

Whiteline Steering Rack Bushings

Whiteline Transmission Crossmember Bushing

Perrin Anti Lift kit/Perrin Positive Steering Response System

Group-N STI Transmission Mount

Kartboy Rear Subframe Lockdown Bolts

Kartboy Shortshifter

Kartboy Shifter Bushings

Koyo Wheel Bearings

Removed/Trimmed fender liners

Relocated/Tucked wiring harness

Rolled & Pulled front fenders

Rolled, Pulled & Cut rear fenders

Brakes:

04 STI Front Brembo calipers powdercoated 3 stage candy apple red with flake

DBA 4000 Series T-Slot Slotted Rotors

Project Mu NS front pads

Stoptech Streets Front pads

Project Mu B-Spec rear pads

Stoptech Stainless Steel lines

Centric Premium Blanks Rotors

Motul RBF 600 Fluid

Cusco Brake Master Cylinder Brace

Exterior:

Voltex Carbon Fiber Rear Diffuser

Voltex Style Front bumper with Canards w/ Carbon wrapped endplates

Voltex Sideskirts

STI JDM Door Garnishes

Chargespeed Bottomline Sideskirt Extensions

Chargespeed Front Lip

Chargespeed Carbon Fiber Mirrors

Seibon CWII Carbon Fiber vented hood

Debadged 2007 STI Trunk

2007 STI Lower Wing Portion

SYMS Upper Wing Portion w/ adjustable Carbon Blade

Custom C/F SYMS wing blade Gurney Flap

2005 Rear Taillights

Ureshi Roof spoiler

Beatrush rear chassis mounted Tow-Hook painted red

Carbign Craft Carbon Fiber Rear License Plate Surround

Carbign Craft Carbon Fiber Exhaust Shield

Lamin-X Yellow Foglight overlays

OEM STI Foglight Covers for OEM bumper

Type RA-R Pignose Trim on OEM bumper and on Voltex bumper

Full LED Headlights, Taillights, & Plate lights

STI door decals

Interior:

Recaro Speed Driver’s Bucket

Recaro SR-Zero Passenger’s Bucket

Custom Recaro Gradation Shift Boot

Custom Recaro Gradiation Center Console Wrap

Version 8 Prodrive STI Cluster

Cusco 6 Point Full Roll Cage

2x Cusco Carbon Fiber Roll Cage Add-On Bars

GoPro 3 Hero w/ GoPro attachment mount to Cusco Add-on Bar

SweidIt Suede wrapped blue doorcards

Sweidit Suede wrapped full center console

Pioneer AVIC-F900BT Head Unit

DEFI Gauge Pod

Prosport Boost Gauge

JDM STI 5-Speed Shift Knob

Prodrive STI 5-Speed Shift Pattern Badge

JDM Red Hazard Button

Alcantara wrapped OEM STI Steering wheel with Yellow race stripe and red stitching

STI Floormats

Full White LED Interior Dome/map lights + Trunk Lights

Gutted rear interior/seats

Beatrush Rear Bulkhead Division Plate/Rear Seat Delete

Fire Extinguisher

Parts pending install: