What do you get when you cross a hot automotive accessory company with a progressive import car manufacturer who wants to show the general populace what you can do with one of their sporty compacts? Duh! You're looking at it, baby! That's exactly what happened when Hyundai Motors hit up the American Products Company crew to do up one of their 2002 Elantra coupes, APC-style.
Research and Development guru Larry Ashley and Marketing Assistant Brent Hattan got the nod from head honcho Brian Horowitz to coordinate the project. "They wanted something a bit crazier than their usual showpiece," adds Brent. Larry chose his "team" of customizers that included Brent for the rendering of the flame job, Praxx Garcia for spray work and Phil Traverse for the awesome audio.
All of the elements came together seamlessly and the final result looks as if Hyundai may have a "sleeper" on their hands. The mods both inside and out definitely add to the already apparent appeal of the 140-hp ride. We're sure that Hyundai is pleased with the outcome of the Elantra and that there'll probably be a reader or two who may own one of these babies and who'll look at the ride twice as hard to see if they can come up with yet another cool combo. *
Interior:
The car sports a two-tone gray/silver leather upholstery installed by Bush Custom Upholstery in Corona, featuring suede inserts with light blue piping and red-hot suede flames on the door panels and seats. APC goods from the warehouse include red Glo Pedals, universal shift knob and billet cigarette lighter. The dashboard and part of the custom door panels have been painted to match the exterior color as well.
Rims and Rubber:
18-inch Motegi Racing MR-7 wheels and P215/35-ZR18 Yokohama Prada radial tires.
Performance:
Stock 2.0-liter DOHC powerplant with an APC universal muffler.
Suspension:
Intrax lowering coils lower the car 21/2 inches.
Paint and Body Mods:
The APC theme continues with the awesome Street Metal rear spoiler out back, an APC universal mesh grille at the nose and the integrated body kit that enhances the body lines. For style and safety, peep out the crazy Road Vision LED turn signal mirrors and the cool APC Stealth Blade windshield wipers. Kudos goes to Praxx Garcia of Paint By Praxx in Corona. Praxx used bright silver as the base and House of Kolor candy for the tribal-style flame job pinstriped with bright blue. A "ghost skull" floats about the flames in the hood area of the Elantra.
Audio:
The full Audiobahn sound system includes a custom subwoofer enclosure that is home to both subs, rear separates and amplifier. Done by Phil "Deez" Traverse of AS Kustomz in La Habra, California. Phil also went ahead and fabricated the custom door panels and lower speaker pods near the front kick panels. He also did the red neon lighting and rigged another amp on the candy blue roll cage. The killer cage was done up by Tubealicious in La Habra.