In this month’s editorial I discussed the art that goes into street cars; the certain je ne sais quoi that many of us strive to capture. Glenn Austin is one such person, having dedicated the past few years to chasing his idea of the perfect street car. What resulted is this stunning Toyota Altezza RS200 Z Edition.
Glenn is a Sydney-based car enthusiast with an obvious soft spot for Toyotas. His garage comprises of a street/track SW20 MR2 and a couple of Altezzas, with his pride and joy being this gunmetal example.
The Altezza was never sold in Australia; instead it was available as a Lexus IS. Glenn’s Altezza is a JDM-only RS200 Z Edition, making it an even rarer find.
There was something about the Altezza that struck a nerve within Glenn, and over the past few years he’s slowly transformed this RS200Z into his ultimate street car.
Glenn’s RS200Z is fitted with the Beams 3S-GE and is mated to a 6-speed. Thanks to an 11.5:1 compression ratio, the motor produced 207hp from the factory – but that wasn’t enough to satisfy Glenn’s need for power.
Glenn’s main power adder is hidden within this carbon box.
Engine response was high on Glenn’s priority list, so he opted to stay naturally aspirated rather than explore the forced induction route. Inside the carbon shroud – the lid can be removed with an Allen key – lurk individual throttle bodies. Along with an incredible bark, the ITBs added a considerable bump in power.
The quad throttles are from TRD, with a MoTeC M800 ECU used to manage the new setup.
On the exhaust side Glenn has fitted a TRD header and HKS Silent HiPower system.
As you’ll see throughout this Altezza, Glenn hasn’t cut any corners. In front of the motor you’ll find an ARC radiator and titanium shroud. Behind the bumper is a GReddy external oil cooler.
Blending in with the gunmetal bodywork is the TRD carbon fibre hood, which sheds a healthy 9.7kg of weight.
After a while, I started losing count of how many different TRD parts are on Glenn’s Altezza. The drivetrain alone features a new shorter gearset, 2-way LSD, lightened flywheel, clutch and short shifter all from Toyota’s inhouse aftermarket division.
TRD 4-piston brakes improve the RS200Z’s stopping power, with the suspension heavily revised to suit Glenn’s weekend forays at racetracks. Glenn opted for Tein RA coilovers, which feature remote reservoirs and 45mm pistons. Camber can be adjusted via the Cusco upper arms.
TRD braces can also be found between the struts as well as on the underbody. Finishing off the handling upgrades are TTE front and rear swaybars along with TRD polyurethane bushes.
Glenn alternates between a few sets of wheels, including some tasty 19-inch forged F-Sport rims. When we shot the Altezza, Glenn opted for his bronze Volk LMGT4s.
Inside you’ll find a pair of reclinable TRD Sports seats…
…A TRD gauge cluster…
…And a trio of Defi BF gauges fitted neatly into a dash pod.
By now you may have noticed this Altezza’s flawless presentation. Although it’s regularly driven hard on both the street and track, it looks as if it’s come straight off the showroom floor. There wasn’t so much as a speck of dust or grime anywhere, even in the wheel wells.
The reason for that is Glenn’s company, Auto Prep, details, maintains and transports Toyota Australia’s fleet of press and concept cars.
In my books at least, Glenn’s Altezza ticks many of the right boxes. Engine response, handling and braking have all been markedly improved…
…Without needing to compromise its street practicality. What Glenn has achieved is balance, and perhaps that’s the je ne sais quoi that separates the special street cars from the ordinary ones.
– Charles Kha
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
win
Perfect!
Clean as a babys ass... but why the wing....?
Love the execution involved in this car, It is absalutely flawless.
want
Nice Altezza! That was an optional front bumper right? Does anyone know where one might acquire one in the states? I've been searching for a while but they're pretty difficult to track down.
Perfection all around!!
Very clean for a Toyota, almost Audi/VW style body tuning.
hate spoilers, but this ride is just too perfect.
Piece of art. add the C-west bodykit, and paint it white - it would be my personal dreamcar
Perfection!
Casey, I wholeheartedly agree, this car ticks all the right boxes and has a wonderful balance of all facets of tuning.
Imo, the spoiler works because of the slightly more aggressive front bumper. The combo looks both completes the body's aggressive character and gives it a factory like sporty addition.
This is very mature styling when compared to the "combat" style body kits and spoilers of the day.
The whole car in general is just so well thought out and well put together, no lame stickers covering the windshield, no lame slammage, no dumb offsets. This is a proper car for a proper grown up enthusiast.
@Eric
The front bumper is actually from the TRD V.1 Neo body kit.
@jdm
"Hate spoilers" considering your screen name, it is very ironic.
this is a nice car, my brother has one, same 6spd gearbox and I love it. he says he wants to change next year to a fd2r civic and I wish I could take that altezza off his hands.
Wow! Amazing example of an Altezza, great post.
Cleanest post hands down EVER.
Super clean, the guy sure has a eye for detail. Much respect.
Now thats a street car!
Rad. I'm feelin this
F*ck. This Altezza is pure porn. Everything is perfect and clean. Wow. I'm in love.
very nice!
Wow, that's beautiful all around!!
Wow, and I thought I kept my cars clean...
This car is so full of epic wn
Pics of the SW20!! lol
Very nicely done. Would love to hear the 3S-GE bark with that quad throttle setup!
Darn sexy gauges!
Seeing people in North America fitting 2JZ's in there IS300's (Altezza) this is great to see! I've always liked the Beams 3s-GE but have rarely seen it installed. Heard the good ones are rather hard to come by. Flawless build there. With all the Toyota performance parts I'm surprised there weren't a couple special edition released that have similar parts to this one. Overall amazing build! With all those TRD parts I can only imagine what it cost you $_$
so how much power does it make with the ITBs? or did i miss that somewhere?
why didnt he order the nismo stickers to go on those lmgt4s ? lol... jks jks very nice car indeed
Sublime! Those Aussie builds are on a different level, i'm so jealous!
I have one of those full Beams swap sitting in my garage, it's up for grabs.
cus its a TRD i guess
Why the chromed taillights?
Very likely the nicest street Altezza in the world.
@D1RGE.EXE
those are the stock taillights......
ive been looking at altezzas in sydney or melbourne but cant seem to find any in decent condition which is a shame. what an amazing build - much better than i could have imagined or afforded
Perfect Altezza
This is a prime example of perfection... As far as Altezzas go, anyways. Now, I don't like to throw this phrase around, but that is Toyota done right!
Do I get extra points for finding Waldo in the rear bumper reflection?
I see most of the articles (not just this article) missing figues and specs of what is in the picture. Eg. "the motor produced 207hp from the factory - but that wasn't enough to satisfy Glenn's need for power". Errr OK! So what hp did he end up with after all the mods pictured in the article?
Imo, the articles should be a bit more informative, otherwise I'm sure most of us here recognise "a trio of Defi BF gauges fitted neatly into a dash pod". Just a friendly suggestion.........
needs less ricer wing, and moar lip/roof wing.
Love it.
This Altezza is absolutely perfect. Balanced, smooth, lightly tuned engine, great looking exterior... it's just imaculate.
if i could get hold of an altezza rs200 then this is pretty simliar to what i would build.
Nismo LMGT4's on a Toyota?!
NEVER!!!
Hah!
Love the air intake setup and is a neat car too!
Super clean! Looks like it came with all them goodies right off the assembly line.
Nice to see the Altezza again!
Factory Altezza tail lights started the whole chrome light tend all those years ago.
*trend
Amazing car... beautiful color! .... and those people hating on the bumper/taillights/spoiler, They are all factory items on this model are not tacky add ons... I personally like the altezza with just a little lip spoiler but i can respect this owner for keeping the bodywork orginal and focusing on performance
Great shots of the car but not enough information on it like power numbers and wheel specs
@ Alpsta, they're just ITB's, man.. It's not like the difference between n/a and turbo. You can expect the ITB's to contribute 20-30hp, pretty much. The engine has more 'room' to breath, that's all. btw, we don't need those kind of friendly reminders around here.
Balance without overdoing it...Great build. Love everything about it specially that sick TB setup
OMG
Perfection everywhere
Beautiful car, shame some readers can't comprehend the amount of work that has been put into it.
Some readers are too young to remember what Clean 90's/early2000's styling looks like, sad.
@VVLgazelle
LOL that factory wing rice? not sure if serious...most aftermarket roof wings ARE rice.
Because having knock-off ill fitting fiberglass lips are cool.
@D1RGE.EXE
Altezza taillights on an actual Altezza does that ring a bell?
Stock tails moron.
^Kick rocks kids.
Stance is the new rice.
Thought having an oncovered air intake would get you a fine in NSW.
Yep the alteza brought in that concept and then it went crazy, every after market rear lights had a alteza style lights, funny thing is, it only looks good on the Altezza, haha
I think the wing is standard with the Z edition Altezzas, If not, it's a TRD bit. I've seen them a couple times before.
What kinda power does this car have now? great article, but some more tech specs would be good. Also, awesome Altezza, I aspire to have one in that condition sometime.
Is there any way to get in touch with Glenn directly?
Hey this is completely stunning, what a prime example of a fun rwd sedan with amazing qualities for the right kind of driver. Great feature, I never knew of the RS2000Z version.
So when is my is300 going to be shown on here? I like this car but we need some hardcore altezza/is300 cars..
@ Option86 "We" ??? I didn't know you were the spokesperson for everyone! The car has more than ITBs, it has other things like a Motec ECU, exhaust system etc. If 207hp wasn't enough to satisfy Glenn's need for power, do you think 227hp will? I know a bronze Volk when I see one but I'd be more satisfied as a reader (and other people as lexus owners) if the article mentioned the sizes and offsets. I am asking for more specific articles and I don't think that's a bad thing or offensive.... I am a fan of Speedhunters and I check it regularly so it gives me the right to give my opinions/suggestions which I believe are for the better of the blog. It is up to the editors to listen to it or not.
@ Alpsta Don't play dumb. Your previous comment was pretty condescending. Of course I'm not a spokesperson for everyone, don't turn this into something it's not.And this Glenn guy shouldn't even up for discussion. The Lexus also has an ECU and exhaust, well, even so, it's not hard to add up the numbers yourself, do a little research; this article is not the worst cliff hanger you've ever read. We're all regulars, so we all feel like we belong to this community. My point is that it's rude to direct comments at people with little condescending snaps here and there, like it's really gonna accomplish anything. Look back at your comment, you sound like a child, teenager at best.
For those going on about the wing it is a Toyota wing, the TRD wing for the altezza is a whale tail/ducks arse one on steroids,
http://trdparts.jp/english/image/p_altezza-rspoiler.jpg
As for the Defi gauges thats not that interesting, whats interesting is they are sitting snug in a TRD gauge holder, one of the rarest parts for these cars along with the TRD cluster.
One of the meanest cars around Australia and Glenn is one helluva guy to deal with
the whole thing is from carbon fiber?!?!?!
Just wow especially the TRD cluster which is the complete opposite of the cluster I have in my is300. It has nice features like oil pressure, overall just a amazing altezza and the perfect color GGP the color I have on my is300
@ Option86, you're the one who sound like a child, learn to handle criticism. Whether my comments will have an effect or not is yet to be seen and like I tried to explain in my previous comment, it's up to the editors so please stay out of it. I don't want this to drag.
@JTMILLER
Thank you for posting that, I'm glad someone actually knows what they are looking at!!
Desktop please? I love Altezzas. This one's perfect, especially that engine with the ITB's.
This Is Nice, But I Have To Say Not The Best Street Altezza Around.. Check Out Mr Singh's one.. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=46373
@Martin
That too is very impressive, a lot money building perfection.
Need to do a story on his whole garage, I want to see those MR2's
Droool, the perfect set up
Great article, Charles. I like that you have chosen to focus on the balance Glenn wanted to achieve. This was never about numbers, this car. For the record though, the Nismo LM GT4s were borrowed from another Altezza/IS200 owner, and once Glenn drove the car with them on, he had to have them.
That signature on the TRD strut brace is Nobuaki Katayama, Chief Engineer of the Altezza Project (and former engineer on the AE86 project too, not surprisingly). After seeing the car, he was more than happy to provide his seal of approval.
just wish that i have the $$$$$........nice ride, superbly done....all around TRD.....droooooling!
i luv this car!!!!!!<3
That would be such a sweet daily driver.
Well written and covered Charles.
One of my favorite stories. Beautiful car and nicely modified. It's nice to see an enthusiast loyal to the brand too. Great article Charles.
Hi there I know this is an old post, but what size are those lmgt4 ? 17" or 18" ?
I think 17, there's more sidewall there.
Nice
Wow wow