Armando Villarreal had already built hisfair share of cars before wining the #TBGLIVE competition at HIN Dallas. Among the extensive list, some highlights would have to be his Eclipse with air suspension and 鈥渟everal audio setups,鈥� a motor-swapped Del Sol, a stanced 350Z, and a 鈥淗awkeye鈥� WRX STI.
鈥淚 typically get bored of my cars once they look the way I want and seek another project,鈥� explains Villarreal. 鈥淗ence the reason I鈥檝e gone through a few cars in the last 10 years鈥�
The build we鈥檙e here for today is his most recent and one of his most successful: the 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STI equipped with the Vollkommen widebody kit.
鈥淚t was between this body STI or an Evo X,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 went with the STI because the exterior was a bit more aggressive than the Evo, the interior was more tolerable, and I missed my 鈥�07 Hawkeye a bit. Once I saw the Vollkommen kit, I knew it had potential and knew I could use it to create the look I wanted.鈥�
There was also something else leading his decision to go widebody, or perhaps we should say someone else: RWB鈥檚 Akira Nakai.
鈥淚鈥檝e watched him build widebody Porsches on his own and this was my chance to do the same,鈥� Villarreal says. 鈥淚t may not be a Porsche, but I can say I did all of the work. It鈥檚 something I鈥檓 really proud of.鈥�
Villarreal has had quite a bit of success with his previous builds, but that doesn鈥檛 mean he鈥檚 immune from challenges. The installation of his Vollkommen widebody kit required tons of research, hours of Japanese YouTube videos and picking the brains of several body shop employees. Another challenge was the Tiffany blue wrap, which almost didn鈥檛 happen due to low stock.
鈥淭he morning I was about to order a different color wrap I received emails from the manufacturer and a vendor,鈥� Villareal recalls. 鈥淭his color was meant to happen. Everything seemed to fall in place at just the right time.鈥�
Funny enough, his two favorite aspects of the build (the widebody and the wrap) were often the most disputed amongst those around him. That didn鈥檛 stray him off course though.
鈥淢any people told me not to wrap an entire car in this color,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 also had several people tell me not to go widebody, but it didn鈥檛 matter what others told me not to do. I built what I wanted.鈥�
Photography by Danny Batista
ESSENTIALS
OWNER: Armando Villarreal
VEHICLE: 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
LOCATION: Hutto, TX
ENGINE: Subaru EJ257 2.5L H-4
HORSEPOWER: 300 hp (estimated)
CLUB: Bone Out Racing Group
#TBGLIVE WINNER | HOT IMPORT NIGHTS (DALLAS, TX)
72% OF THE POPULAR VOTE
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: Photographer:
ENGINE & PERFORMANCE
- Perrin cold air intake
- Forge Motorsports blow-off valve
- Cobb Tuning Accessport
- PTP Lava T25/T28 turbo blanket
EXHAUST
- Invidia (N1 dual cat-back exhaust system, cat-less down-pipe)
WHEELS/TIRES/BRAKES
- Forgestar M14.2 - 18x12 (f/r)
- Bridgestone Potenza - 295/35 R18 (f/r)
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
- BC Racing coilovers - 16k (f), 14k (r)
EXTERIOR
- Vollkommen Design widebody kit
- Aeroflow Dynamics (splitter, canards, spats, side extensions)
- Tiffany blue vehicle wrap
- Custom painted headlights
INTERIOR
- Color-matched interior
AUDIO & MULTIMEDIA
- Pioneer AVH04800BS head unit
- JL Audio (10-inch W6 subwoofer, sealed enclosure, 500-watt mono amplifier)
PHOTO GALLERY
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