SP Rides: Stick To Your Own Path
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Name: Matthew Young
Age: 29
Occupation: Solar Tech
Hobbies: Cars, Sticker Art, Beach/ Hikes, Anime
Year, Make, Model: 2002 Subaru WRX
Color: KPMF Morpheus Black (Sticker Bombed Itasha Styled)
Engine: Ej205 Flat 4, Cobb intake w/ box, Grimspeed aos ,Gfb bov, Mishimoto radiator w/ hoses, Tomei uel headers, Tomei catless uppipe , Invidia catless downpipe, P&L motorsports track/race exhaust
Exterior: Fiberglass Mafia Fender flares, Front v lip, Side spats, Oem 3 piece rear lip, HIC roof spoiler, Carbon fiber sti hood scoop,Jdm wrx front grill,Jdm headlights, Sixspeed horns, VMS lugnuts w/ 3″ red spikes, Vinyl wrapped (Morpheus black), Custom Itasha decal, Custom stickerbomb hood,trunk,mirrors, OPT7 Led underglows, Top1 license plate tilt
Interior: Sickspeed bucket seats(stickerbomb), Nrg Harness bar (stickerbomb), Takata harness, Nrg Quick release, Nrg Short hub, Advane sticker bomb steer wheel, infocus shiftboot, Cobb short shifter , Jdm flower shift knob, Custom sticker bomb headliner,door panels, dash panels/ac vents, gauge cluster, headliner, OPT7 Led interior lighting , Beatrush backseat delete (stickerbomb), Custom trunk liner (stickerbomb)
Suspension: BC coilovers with camber plates
Wheels, Brakes, Tires: Diamond racing wheels(pro street) 16-by-10 0 offset all around, Stoptec Slotted Drilled rotors and pads, Lexani 205/55R 16s all around
It’s rare that I have the opportunity to photograph a ride that is absolutely bursting from the seam welds with visual overload. This 2002 Subaru WRX, owned by Matthew Young, has been graphically overhauled in the Itasha- (decorating car exteriors with fictional anime — and the like — characters) style and the end result is an absolute visual feast for the eyes.
Young has always been a car guy and he’s owned quite a few rides to included Evo’s and S2000s. However, he’s always had his heart set on the bug-eyed early version of the Subaru WRX. In 2013, he spied an extremely low-mileage version that had only 39,000 miles on it and couldn’t resist the opportunity. The build was a slow process focused on longevity rather than going all-motor which would reduce its reliability and comfort.
Obviously, a huge focus has been put upon the exterior. You could literally spend an uncomfortably long span of time looking at every angle of the car, primarily because it looks like someone dropped an enormous sticker bomb on it. Young is what you would consider a sticker enthusiast being that there’s over $5000 worth of stickers applied throughout the car. There’s a definite method to the madness as he would spend hours applying the stickers throughout the vehicle — the hood, the trunk, the mirrors, etc., with each having been painstakingly wrapped in stickers galore.
Underneath all of this is a gorgeous Morpheus Black vinyl wrap that sparkles like a rainbow in the night when direct light is applied. This is all accented by various components such as the fiberglass Mafia fender flares, the HIC roof spoiler, carbon fiber hood scoop as well as JDM headlights. The side panels have also been emblazoned with Rory Mercury, known from the popular anime known as Gate.
This then carries over to the interior, which also is overloaded with anime goodness. From the front to back, there’s not much that hasn’t been touched. Even the roof has been sticker bombed as well as the interior door panels which were treated with resin and sanded to provide a proper surface for adhesion. The seats have been swapped out with Sickspeed buckets that have also been sticker bombed. The rear seats have been deleted to save space but most importantly to provide a huge canvas for even more stickers with a custom fabricated backseat liner and Beatrush backseat delete and rear trunk bomb. We don’t even have space to cover all of the mods such as the Advane wheel and NRG components.
This magnificent sticker bomb of a car has been dropped on BC coilovers with camber plates onto some massive Diamond Racing Wheels set at 16-by-10 all around. I say massive because normally these cars carry low profile tires. That’s simply not the case with these Lexani 205/55R 16s. They are nothing but big tread tires with massive sidewalls. It’s a great look.
I’ve seen sticker bombed rides before, but this baby is an entirely different league. It’s clean and well done as well, which is a total bonus. As for Young, his look is all his own, and for good reason. “I like how my car attracts and impacts people. I dare to be different. And I do what makes me happy by doing what I want to my build,” he shared.
