Local GT86 widebody conversion

Taking the crown of national sports car away from the Toyota Celica and the Mazda RX8, the Toyota GT86 has filled Bangladeshi streets with a capable rear-wheel drive platform that is ripe for tuning. Usually, people are reluctant to put a fresh new sports car under the knife for major bodywork and engine mods – the Celica and the RX8 took a good five or six years before anyone started tinkering around with them properly. That's not the case with the GT86 – with easier access to aftermarket parts and greater abilities of mechanics and garages at an 86 owner's hands, these nimble, fun cars are getting the aftermarket attention they deserve.

While the other bodykitted GT86s were imported into the country with various pieces attached to them, Rayhan Kabir Rafin's widebody Rocketbunny GT86 is a little different. That's because the widebody kit was fitted locally – at Nippon Auto Works, under the supervision of Zaheen Tajoar Chowdhury.

The swap is fairly straightforward, aside from the precise fender cutting that requires an expert eye and minute adjustments to make the wide panels fit properly. The Rocketbunny V2 bodykit requires the front crash bar to be cut, so it's not exactly a bolt on affair. The original bodykit and the HKS Hipermax coilovers (a definite requirement if you want that flush look with camber adjustment) were sourced from Bangkok, Thailand. For the wheels, Rafin opted for 18 inch 10.5J Enkei RS05RR wheels shod in Achilles 265/35ZR tyres– considering how wide the end product became, the 10.5J wheels were nearly not wide enough, requiring 25mm front and 28mm rear wheel spacers. 2-degree front and 2.25-degree rear negative camber gets the 86 sitting low and wide on the road. Coated in a wonderful solid Porsche Mexico Blue, the now-distinctive 86 needed that extra touch to liven things up on the performance front. Tomei TI downpipe, GReddy straight pipe and Kakimoto Regu06&R exhaust make the 2.0 litre boxer motor sound sublime.

What's next? Rafin plans on chassis stiffening bars, more aggressive camber, a supercharger kit, unequal length headers, cold air intake, cams, and lightweight pulleys in the near future. For now, he's happy to let the tail slide out, imitating everyone's favourite child-star turned pop-sensation in her over-the-top music videos.