Factory Five customer Art Q. from Indiana had been dreaming about building his own car since the 1960s. When he saw the 818 the other year, he knew that was the car he wanted to build. Art was looking for a project that allowed him to design and fabricate extras, tweaking and modding all along the way, and the 818 was the perfect platform for him to do that.

Art came out from Indiana to FFR with his grandson Jack to pick-up the kit, and the discussed the build quite a bit on their road trip and how they were going to do things a little bit different.

Art’s build features a lot of custom modifications. Starting with the 818C kit, Art installed a JDM 3.0 liter H6 motor, ’98 Forrester manual transmission, suspension components from a 2007 Legacy with modified mounting points. He also added a Ford Fusion spoiler, Kia Soul front bumper for the rear fascia, Ram 1500 and Scion grilles chopped and fitted, and several of his own custom built parts like a carbon fiber intake, hood vents, rear tail lights, and a custom instruments cluster and more.

Art made sure he had a hand in every aspect of his build including wiring, the custom interior, and paint.

Now that Art’s 818 is on the road and having fun driving it, he really enjoys talking about it with everyone. The other day, his wife overheard some people looking at his 818, and one said, “I think it might be a new Porsche.” Art’s reply is always, “I built it, and I would do it all again.”