MAKING THE GRADE

When you're one of the NBA's baddest players, whether you want it or not you bear the burden of carrying the torch (and the league) once held aloft by the game's legends. Smooth player that he is, Tracy McGrady takes it all in stride. He has reason to exude confidence: we're talking about arguably the best complete player in the association; a prolific scorer with long range touch who can dish, steal, rebound and block shots. Fans of other big-name ballers are indeed quick to argue the statement. But take a look at the stats. An all-star who is usually touted as THE best all-around player last year averaged similar numbers, and fell short significantly in a couple of key aspects. See the table:

Of course some bandwagoners will point out that the other guy on the Lakers has a bunch of championship rings. Perhaps if Orlando and McGrady had Shaq the rings would be on the other finger. But enough of that. Off the court, there is no argument who's this or that, at least as far as their rides are concerned. They all drive beautiful, bad, or brilliant cars. In this respect these players are all on the same level. That's because they're all a bunch of friggin' multi-millionaires. But I ain't mad at 'em... That reminds me: a word to our readers: keep your critical letters about fabulous opulent ostentatious installs on exotic ultra-expensive celebrity cars to yourself. Just like me.

As one might expect McGrady drives (among others) a 2002 Ferrari Spyder 360. His is the F1, which is an elite 360 version that uses a six-speed gear box controlled via paddle shifters on the steering wheel (like the big-time F1 race cars). MSRP for the vehicle is a cool $350K -- that's like McGrady's per diem money for a full NBA season or something.

When he purchased the vehicle he knew that it wouldn't be enough to have the regular Spyder. Let the fat graying businessman that's trying to get through the proverbial mid-life crisis drive it stock. McGrady loves music and is something of an audiophile. He expressed his appreciation of sound quality to the guys at Audio Illusions in Orlando, FL who designed and installed a first-rate setup to go along with the "IMNUM1" license plate.

While the vehicle doesn't allow for a great deal of equipment there's enough space for a stylish system -- that is if you have the right installers. William Fonseca, Jorge Rodriguez and Reuben Rivera proved to be just the right team. First off they Dynamatted the car from top to bottom and laid out 4-gauge Phoenix Gold ZX and complementary interconnects. The wires would carry the signal from the Pioneer DEH-P9300 head unit encased in a custom trim ring to Phoenix Gold Ti 600.2 and 500.4 amplifiers. The 600.2 runs the Polk MOMO MM100 10" subwoofer, powered up to 600 watts at 4 ohms, and the 500.4 powers up the speakers in the doors as well as the center channel speaker. Mounted below the factory roll bars, the amps were placed behind the seats in a smooth fiberglass rack, gel coated and painted to match the platinum exterior of the vehicle. The frames for the PG gear are finished off in vinyl.

In between the amps resides the single sub. Creating terrific bass was slightly problematic. In an open environment with just a single speaker, it's not easy to create a heart-pounding bass setup. Here the enclosure was key. It was built using resin, fleece, matting and MDF with an acrylic window to show off the speaker. Total air space is 0.43 ft3. Imaging was also an issue for this convertible. That's why a center channel was installed just below the HVAC knobs, in order to help focus the sound. It's in a fiberglass enclosure that houses a 5-1/4" Polk MOMO midrange speaker, which sits below two 1" tweeters angled up to the left and right, and encased in a well sculpted custom acrylic mount. So despite the road noise, McGrady is still be able to hear music with some fidelity. In the doors are more Polk speakers, the company's MM6 component system. A 6-1/2" mid on each side was installed in the stock location. This required only a slight modification to the basket of the speaker. Polk Audio Grills protect the cones. The panel and grille only appear to be one piece (see above photo); in fact, the former was placed over the latter for that singular look. Taking care of the high end are two more MOMO tweeters, one on each side as well. Overall, the system serves as a kind of subdued yet emphatic counterpoint to the inherent bling-bling nature of the exotic sports car.

The slogan at Audio Illusions has always been to "elevate the standards of car." The craftsmanship displayed in pulling off this simple and elegant system design lives up to this ideal. The car is not stacked with equipment (not that you could fit any more in the Ferrari's tight confines) but it's the perfect style for the vehicle. And style is exactly the point for a player who not only plays effectively but with grace and beautiful control. Look for this Ferrari in music videos soon.

Special thanks to Tracy McGrady and Audio Illusions owners, Noula Wolfgramm and William Fonseca, as well as the entire team at the shop.