Comparing the RX-8 to the legendary RX-7 is likened to comparing Megan Fox with Jamie Foxx. It's enough to make Nads' back hair turn even whiter. It was some marketing guy's "great" idea turned rotary purist's worst nightmare. The lack of a turbocharger on the Renesis engine equates to a SLOW 8. You may want to think twice about using that word around Dave Gibson of Speed Machine Performance, though. The 619 wheel hp and 530 lb-ft of torque at 26psi he helped to produce out of the Falken Mazda RX-8 is anything but slow.

Based in Vista, CA, Speed Machine focuses on building nearly-invincible rotary motors. Drift fans may also know that this RX-8 isn't the first time Gibson and Falken have crossed paths. They began their motorsports partnership with the last-generation RX-7, driven by Tony Angelo-built from scratch in less than 12 days-and the 8 is the natural progression of the rotary project. While the 7 was already rock solid, Dave and the crew felt the project didn't have the time they would have liked to devote. Falken's main man, Nick Fousekis, is infinitely confident in Gibson's abilities: "I knew Dave was going to do it. Aside from hiccups in first year builds, I know that it's only a matter of time before [the RX-8] is a contender and really hard to beat. It's just getting over that hurdle."

Work on the 8 began in late '06, with preparation of the engine and chassis. While Dave worked on the 13B and his team did their magic on the chassis, parts that would eventually make their way onto the RX-8 started to trickle in and litter the shop. And by parts, we mean two of everything, literally. Falken and Speed Machine took no chances and spared no expense to make this car as competitive as possible. We'll put it into perspective for you: If someone walked in off the street and asked Speed Machine to build this same exact RX-8, it'd cost in excess of $250,000. That's not a number we came up through arcane magic; that's a number quoted from Dave. A quarter million dollars, more than the combined salary of the entire Super Street staff over the course of 10 years. Just the amount of Wiggins clamps on the car cost in the range of a few grand.

Six digits was enough to build the sickest, wildest, meanest, most powerful twin-turbo 13B we've ever experienced, outputting roughly 476 horses per liter. Speed Machine accomplished this incredible feat with a 13B, but not the usual kind you'd expect. Dave sourced a JDM Cosmo rotary, chosen for its improved breathing potential. The motor was torn apart only to be streetported, cryo-treated and designed to produce instant response, the widest powerband and most power possible out of a twin-turbo two-rotor.

But power alone won't make much of a drift car; all those ponies need to reach the turf. That's why the Cosmo motor was mated to a cryo-treated RX-7 transmission with the pricy OS Giken gear set. It may be rough at times, but the FD tranny is nearly bulletproof and capable of handling the 600+ hp. The gear seat isn't the only thing from OS Giken either; the twin-plate clutch and two-way locking differential are both OS, too. Nearly every stock suspension part was also removed with aftermarket parts like Tein MonoFlex coilovers, Speed Machine fully-adjustable rear arms, a modified and spaced steering rack and a fully-custom modified Mazdaspeed Power Plant Frame. Dave won't even let us see the latter; it's just that good.

After hearing Dave talk about the 8 for only a few minutes, it's immediately apparent he's proud of the work done. He just knows how much he and his team killed themselves to finish the car. If Dr. Felix were still alive, he would adjust his glasses and marvel at how much Speed Machine squeezed out of the rotary. And he'd probably say something like, "Dieses ist die Scheisse!"

Before off-the-shelf speed parts, the Honda craze of the late '80s and early '90s, and before there was anything remotely termed "JDM," there existed a small group of third generation (Sansei) Japanese-Americans living within the Los Angeles area. These JAs embraced the hot-rod culture, albeit with a twist, and were the forefathers for the import movement. They built Mazda RX-3s, Datsun 510s, Capris, and yes, Toyota Celicas (before they went wrong-wheel drive). They attended get-togethers and carnivals like Nisei Week in Downtown LA or OCBC in Orange County, and car clubs like Paradise Creations, Street Wave, and Shoreline ruled the streets. They built everything, from good ol' American iron to some really fast "imports." Everything our scene is today can be traced back to these guys.

Brian Karasawa is one of these pioneers. Growing up in Long Beach, Brian was introduced to the car culture by his older cousins who built muscle cars. However, by the time he was old enough to drive, he and his friends' interests had turned to something a little different; they wanted to do what was hot in Japan. Crazy racing teams in the motherland were making power with Corollas, RX-3s and Skylines! Back in the day, hot-rodding Japanese "econo boxes" was unheard of in the U.S., but these guys wanted something with their own identity. Something that would be "underground" before underground would ever be considered cool, and fixed up in a way that reflected a mixture of American hot rod and Japanese "aji" (flavor).

Brian immediately caught the bug with his first car, a '77 RA24 Celica coupe. Since he was a student on a tight budget, and because bolt-on parts were not available, he made the most of his car. He cut the springs, welded on a too-loud exhaust, slapped on some 13x7 Hayashi Command 700s and headed for the local street races, cruises, or hot house parties. Over the years, he and his club, Shoreline Racing, gained recognition as having some of the fastest cars. Like most car clubs of that era, they were hassled by the cops for the cars they drove (sound familiar?), but overall enjoyed the car culture they created without even knowing it.

Fast forward to the present, where Brian caught the bug again and, once again, heard the calling to build. He knew he would never touch a newer Honda or Nissan; instead, he wanted something that had soul and reminded him of his roots-something that represented the epitome of what it meant to have a JA-style car in the '80s. Call this an era project, a car not meant to have coilover suspension or a fuel-injected engine, or even power steering. Not one to toss parts out, Brian rummaged through old boxes he had in storage and found that he still had a set of 44mm sidedraft Mikuni carbs, a 20R Mikuni manifold, a TRD (read: Doug Thorley) header, a 4.3 rear end and a brand new Tilton flywheel. The game, as they say, was on. After hearing a rumor that a friend of a friend had an "old Toyota" sitting in the backyard, Brian drove out and saw a diamond in the rough: a '77 liftback in bad need of restoration and customization. Undeterred, Brian set out on what would later become nothing less than a labor of love.

After yanking the engine and doing his own body prep work, Brian sent the chassis to Kono's Autobody & Paint in Bellflower, where Brian Kono removed the rust, replaced entire panels, smoothed/shaved/filled the body, and laid down the House of Kolor Sunset Pearl paint. Meanwhile, Brian and his buddy Ken Takenaka began the buildup of a 20R/22R hybrid. This was an excellent way to make more power back in the day, and you did this by taking a 22R block and mating it to a 20R head for its flow characteristics. Brian sent the head out to Rich Kemph Cylinder Heads in San Pedro, where they ported, polished, and installed custom swirled valves, a custom rocker assembly, and ARP studs. Having the head off was the perfect excuse for Brian and Ken to bore the old short block out to 92mm, install Arias pistons (11 to 1 compression) and have the crank balanced. Once the head was returned and mated to the block, Brian installed an Isky 288/480 cam, the dual 44 Mikuni sidedrafts, his Tilton flywheel, a Toyota truck clutch and the infamous "Tri-Y" TRD header.

Once the chassis was safely at home, Brian dropped the power plant in and set out to recreate the '80s look. The easy-to-find items, like five-panel Wink mirror, paint-matched Vitaloni Tornado side mirrors, amber sidemarkers, and Tom's corner lenses, were bolted in place and the painful task of finding era-correct parts began-ultimately a chore in itself. Koji and Terry Yamaguchi of the Japanese Classic Car Show were instrumental in hooking Brian up with the "smiley" bumpers and other crazed enthusiasts, like Restored.jp for the "Banana" taillights (Inata-san, in a selfless act, gave them to him for the cost of shipping), and Joji Luz from ToyGarage.com. The old-school enthusiasts at Cabe Toyota also helped out in tracking down miscellaneous hard-to-find parts like weather-stripping and miscellaneous moldings (these guys know their stuff). The entire interior is era correct with a simple setup of Formuling France steering wheel and completely restored carpet, headliner, panels, and seats done by Wahl's Upholstery in Los Alamitos. No crazy 20-something gauges, no flip-up DVD navigation, and no fiberglass molded dashboard here. The last touches were to cut the coils (yes, CUT the coils), bolt on refinished Hayashi Racing Command 500's (14x7) wrapped in Toyo Proxes rubber, and have an exhaust system made to look like they did in the '80s. A Magnaflow muffler with simple "pencil" tip was welded up and installed.

When we saw the completed project at this last Toyotafest in Long Beach we were completely impressed and felt like teenagers scoping out a ride from our glory days (More your days than mine -Rik). This car is perfect in its re-creation of an era, of its trueness to the JA style, and a testament to the builder's vision.

Fast Facts
'77 Toyota Corolla
Owner Brian Karasawa
Hometown Cypress, Ca
Daily Grind Technical Accountant
Power Est. 170 Hp
Under The Hood 22R Block; 92mm Arias pistons, balanced crank; 20R head by Rich Kemph Cylinder Heads, port, polish, swirled valves, 288/480 Isky cam, custom rocker assembly; Mikuni/Solex 44mm sidedraft carbs, manifold; TRD header, custom Magnaflow exhaust.
Drivetrain Tilton flywheel, Toyota Truck clutch with 4:37 geared rear end.
Brains It's carbureted!
Stiff Stuff Cut coils, Tokico shocks, Addco front and rear sway bars.
Rollers 14x7 Hayashi Racing Command 500 wheels; 195/50R15 Toyo Proxes T1Rs front and rear
Outside House of Kolor Sunset Pearl paint, shaved moldings, Japanese "Banana" taillights, amber sidemarkers, Tom's corner lenses, blacked-out window trim.
Inside Factory-restored seats, door panels, trim panels, headliner, and carpet; Formuling France steering wheel.
Props My wife for putting up with my project; Wes Tanaka, Mike Foertch, and Mike Bingham at Cabe Toyota; Koji and Terry Yamaguchi from JCCS; Ken Takenaka and Glenn Nakatani for their muscle; David Kayano for the use of his trucks; Koichiro Kanda for helping translate English to Japanese and vice versa; Troy Sumitomo from Five Axis and Tim Mochizuki from Toyota for their technical support; Bryan Kono from Kono's Autobody & Paint; Rene Cardenas from Wahl's Upholstery; Joji Luz from Toy Garage; Rich Kemph from Rich Kemph Cylinder Heads; Inata-san from Restored.jp; David Wong from Sleeka Spares in Australia; and the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club (TORC) for getting me into this money pit.
Connect cabeperformance.com; japaneseclassiccarshow.com; restored.jp; shorelineracing.com; toygarage.com; toyotaclub.org

I've been trying to teach my fiancee how to drive a stick forever. She constantly whines and bitches, saying, "It's too difficult," or the famous cop-out: "I'm nervous!" But my favorite line has been: "What's the far-left pedal for again?" While Yoko can't seem to grasp the manual selection of gears, Stephanie Eggum is jumping out of planes and hitting triple-digit speeds down the 1320.

Stephanie's drag racing career contains some unconventional originals. Back in 2001 Eggum, then 20, was knee-deep in skydive certification. About a dozen solo-dives into the program, something went wrong-way wrong. On a routine jump, Stephanie's chute deployed incorrectly. "I remember looking up and seeing it was all tangled," she said. "In a split-second, you remember what they tell you to do [in the classes]. I remember trying to regain control, but I just got whipped to the side." Only two of the ten cells in the canopy were able to open up. Unable to control the chute, Eggum lost her grip and began to spin viciously, so fast that she was knocked out. After plummeting at speeds between 70-80 mph, she hit the ground unconscious. That could very well be the reason why she's alive today; sounds horrible, but it's not that bad, considering that terminal velocity is 120 mph. She was able to literally walk away from the fall with only a severe concussion.

A 14,000 foot fall isn't something most people walk away from, but Stephanie did. And coincidentally, it sparked her interest for drag racing. Within two years, she went from parachutes at 14,000 with a speed of 120 mph, to chutes on the strip with a trap speed of 185. So says Stephanie, "I had been living in Chicago at the time, working as a hair colorist. After the accident, I moved back home to recover and needed a car to get around. That's when I got the Civic. One thing led to another, and I started going to a local track. The next year (in '03), I raced the entire NOPI season. I went from having a parachute on top of me to one behind me. It was either racing or trying to get a pilot's license. I have a fascination with speed and flying. . .it's an obsession. "

But based on Stephanie's workout routine, you'd think she'd be more comfortable as an extreme athlete than a drag racer. She goes to the gym six days a week for cardio and weights, and works with a trainer to strengthen her lower body; she wants to get into RWD. "For me personally, I need to do it because I was in an accident," she said. "I started out to strengthen my car. With the spool and 28-inch s****s, it's impossible to turn the damn thing."

The person is always more interesting than the car. Yeah, cars are cool; they're amazing. But there's always a story behind a car. Stephanie is one example. She's doing what she loves, even if it means giving up a few creature comforts along the way: "This is my last year racing Hot Rod. We're going to sell the car this year. From here going faster, it's either Pro Front or getting into RWD. Pro Front is an exciting class, but with the money it costs to build a car, that's as fast as you can go in a FWD. Unless I join a team, I'm not looking into getting into pro-front wheel drive."

She has the pedigree to move on from her FWD experiences. Stop getting the pages sticky and bear with me for a moment. Pretend that Stephanie Eggum isn't smokin' hot, or at least stop ogling for a moment so you can appreciate some of her past work. In '06, Stephanie won the NHRA World Finals and took second in the Hot Rod points Championship. Her Civic also won "Best Racecar" of SEMA IAS. Oh, did we mention that while Stephan Papadakis might have the distinction of placing the first Honda in the 7s (with a RWD Honda), Eggum was the first to do it with a front-wheel drive Honda.Doing some quick math, Stephanie and I quickly learn how expensive drag racing really is. "Once you get to Sport Front Wheel Drive, you're shelling out boatloads of money," she said. "When you get to the pro levels, you love what you do and have a love for the sport, but also you have to pay your bills. We spend $100,000 a year just racing." Averaging out each pass at about 8 seconds, with a total of 120 passes a year (including practice, qualifying and races), that works out to be $104.16 per second of driving or $6,250 per minute of driving. That's way more expensive that Carter's phone *** addiction. But for someone with success already in the record books, Stephanie remains realistic, but still optimistic: "It's hard to enjoy your success racing because you're terrified of not racing the next year. I'm scared s----less of going back to doing hair. [I'll be in] Funny Car 10 years from now. 100-percent without a doubt, I can't see driving anything but Funny Car. For whatever reason, I want to get behind a dragster. "