At first glance there's not much that can be done to improve a $106,000 Maserati, but don't tell that to South Carolina competitor Joshua Tech. After all, his '05 Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa has been fully overhauled with a competition-level audio system and a whole range of interior and exterior modifications.
Tech wouldn't have it any other way. "Most people with this type of car never drive it," he says, "[but] I am the complete opposite. I've driven this car over 20,000 miles already ... it's a daily driver." But that's not to say the Maserati is just another commuter. "The best part about this car is the attention that it brings," Tech says. "At car shows it is expected but this car brings looks everywhere. People constantly break out their camera phones when I'm going down the highway. Pumping gas turns into a conversation with the car next to me-not to mention the looks I get from valets."
Tech's Coupe Cambiocorsa took top honors at the NOPI Nationals Exotic Championships in 2006 and 2007 and won the '07 Spring Break Nationals Street Import Championship. It took First Place at the Funkmaster Flex tour in both Daytona, FL, and Myrtle Beach, SC; First Place at Hot Import Nights 2007 in Orlando, FL, and Charlotte, NC; and won at the Festivals of Speed in Orlando, FL.
Clean Looks
Instead of gutting the car and lining everything with Dynamat, Tech left things relatively the same. "The Maserati is a solidly built car and I found out that it was already well dampened," he says. "These types of cars even use carpet-backed wheelhouse liners to reduce road noise." Tech also left most of the car's saddleback leather interior intact, simply highlighting his installs with black vinyl and mirrored black acrylic.
A High Note
The front soundstage consists of Image Dynamics CD1PRO horns mounted behind molded grilles under the dash and Rockford Fosgate's T162S 6.5" component set in the factory door locations. Tech then installed the tweeters up in the pillars and accented them with burl wood trim. A Tang Band 5" woofer handles the center channel from a custom fiberglass enclosure in the center air duct while a pair of Rockford Fosgate P1694C 6x9s round things out from the back seat.
The Tweaker
An Alpine PXA-H701 audio processor handles the system's EQ, crossovers and time delay settings. Mounted between the rear seats, the brain unit was covered with mirrored glass and highlighted with blue neon and the faceplate controller was wrapped in simple black vinyl in a custom center console mount.