Last Sunday, Will Roegge and I made a trip over to GTI in San Clemente to check out the progress on Matt Powers’ S14.
The very noticeable and highly controversial new engine has been a huge topic of discussion lately all over teh interwebz. Did our grassroots rockstar really swap out his KADE-T for an LS7 powerplant? He sure did, and he’ll be the first to tell you that he doesn’t give a sh*t what you think about it. Matt is focused on going fast and winning. Period.
Here’s where I mention that Will Roegge was shooting Matt for upcoming NFS content and continually got in my way. Bastard.
Although I have no idea how to spell his name, pictured here is the owner of the shop, Costa, putting in long hours to get this old Nissan up to par with the incredibly high standards of the Formula Drift vehicle roster.
While you may think Matt Powers works on his own car by himself, it actually took much persuading to get him to pose for this shot.
In reality, it’s the hard work of guys like this who keep this car straight enough to mount brake lights to.
Just kidding, Matt. <3
Here you can see the beastly rear bash bar almost completed. And yes, this is the same car Matt’s been drifting for the last however-many years.
Shown here is one of the more drastic aesthetic changes to the car; the mint and pink cheetah print. One of my favorite parts about the new livery is the reflective black and white vinyl. It’s not obvious enough to notice right away, but when you see it, you’ll sh*t bricks. Awesome.
For me, one of the most exciting changes to the car this year was the switch to Rocket Bunny aero. Also, the carbon fiber D-Max hood works great with the NFS livery.
As new parts come in, old parts naturally get thrown out. I think these fenders may have seen every wall in the FD season list.
Another cool switch that I liked was the addition of pink 18×9.5 Gram Lights 57Ds, giving Matt’s car an even more eye-catching appearance with pink and yellow – pink and yellow – pink and yellow – pink and yellow.
If you’re thinking Matt’s spending a ton of time on this one fender, just know that this is the most sturdy fender an S-chassis has EVER SEEN. I was in total disbelief at how rigidly it was mounted. Matt has spent many sleepless nights to transition from losing body panels by merely initiating, to driving an amazingly solid and well-built car.
And he seems very pleased with the results.
Will and I spent quite some time at GTI and not once did I see anyone take a break or even slow down. If this is an idea of the kind of support Mr. Powers has this season, I can only imagine the success that is in store. I’m very excited to see how Matthew Tyler Powers likes his new setup during testing at Willow Springs Raceway tomorrow.
For behind the scenes footage of Matt “Keeping Drifting Fun,” TANDEM OF DIE.
-Justin Shreeve
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