Obviously, it is not a good idea to be playing video games projected on an open hood with the same steering wheel and pedals that control the car while in motion. I don't know how good you are, but when I play racing games, I seem to spend half my time hitting walls or catching air. It wouldn't exactly be the greatest thing if the car responded to my controls and ran into walls whenever I played video games. To counter this point, 5Axis allowed the factory pedals to interface with the Xbox and made the stock Scion steering wheel interchangeable with the Mad Catz gaming wheel.
The video projector and motorized hood were used instead of the massive Pioneer plasma TV ( la green tC) for one simple reason: In order to play games, the screen would have to be in front of the driver and the tiny xA doesn't have enough room to swallow a huge 43-inch flat TV. The solution was to incorporate a video projector into the Scion and modify the hood so that it was hinged on the front end and would be motorized to flip up with the touch of a button. Another added bonus with a video projector versus a plasma TV is that, if the hood is not flipped up, the projector can display an image almost 40' wide on a wall 60' in front of the xA.
Adding to the drive-in theater experience is the extremely open-air nature of the body modifications to the Scion. Sensing the xA possessed the natural bodylines for a sheetmetal reduction, 5Axis chopped the roof off of the Scion and added large openings in each side door. The xAs back seat was removed in favor of a rear deck that hides all the extra electronics, including the Xbox 360 gaming consoles, Casio projector, 19-inch Samsung LCD monitors and a Pioneer HTP-2600 5.1-channel surround sound home theater system that uses Monster cables to reach the Pioneer AVIC D1 double-DIN navigation head unit.
Using factory CAD data, 5Axis created a template from which they could cut, mill and mold the new 6" wider body. Completely constructed in-house in seven months time, the House of Kolor Persimmon Pearl-coated Scion xA boasts backing from some of the best in the industry. Resting on the Tein Super Street coil-over system, the xA tucks 19 x 9.5 front and 19 x 10.5 rear Rays Engineering G-Games 99B wheels wrapped in 245/35-19 front and 295/35-19 rear Yokohama AVS Sport tires. Two hundred ninety-five-width tires on a Scion xA! I love it!
More an awe-inspiring show car than an actual road racer, this xA was fit with an AEM cold-air intake, DC Sports header and a 5Axis custom exhaust nonetheless. The TRD custom four-piston brake kit is also probably not going to see as much use as it was designed for, but the 328mm (12.9") diameter of the rotor ensures the right look is present for the right car. With room for only two passengers, it made perfect sense to envelop each occupant in Sparco Fighter seats and 4-point, cam-lock harnesses, with Sparco pedals and an Alcantara steering wheel ready for driving duties.
With their trio of wild Scion widebody show cars now complete, 5Axis can rest assured that this is perhaps the craziest xA now in existence. With an eye-catching hue, a disgustingly well-constructed widebody, and the most immersive video game experience ever incorporated into a car, this xA is sure to become a high standard for demo vehicles. Even if one would be more likely to drive in the video game than the car itself.