Skin
The body of the R was sprayed with Glasurit 285-16 primer filler and block sanded. Next was a coat of Glasurit 285-21 surfacer and wet sanding out to 600-grit. The car was then sprayed with two coats of BASF R-M StarFlake silver basecoat. Eight coats of the custom-mixed BASF R-M Carizzma Candy Cherry Cola were then sprayed over the silver. Four coats of R-M DC-5800 clearcoat were applied, then sanded out and polished by Kevin Brown to give a super wet look. With the effect of the candy paint, the Imprint RLS dances under light and changes color depending on how much light is shining on it.
Dub
Finally, the crowning touches are the massive custom-machined 26" and 30" TIS model 01 wheels. This wheel is available in 20"-28" sizes, but we received the only set of the custom-made 30" version. The rims are wrapped in Pirelli 315/30R30 Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico Tires. The front runs the 305/30/26 version. A massive set of Brembo brakes provides the additional stopping power.
Well that about wraps it up. For more details and build pictures check out www.caraudiomag.com and www.alpine-usa.com. Also watch for an in-depth look at the techniques used to build the Imprint RLS in Steve Brown's "Tricks of the Trade" here in CA&E.
Steve, Brent and I would like to thank everybody that helped out on this project. It was a huge undertaking and could not have been accomplished in such a short time frame (16 weeks of build time) without their support and dedication to the project. Dawnyle Bell, Rachael Brown, Heather Davison, Glen Swackhamer, Rino Odorico, Myles Kovacs of TIS wheels, Jess and Brian at BASF, Brembo, Kinetik batteries, Monster Cable, Kevin Brown, Jason Rose from Meguiar's, Ryan Roybal of Roybal Designs, Joe and Tracy Mcgarvey from Indie Beach Productions, Hair Nation, Kevin K., Rockstar, Scott and Rebecca Neil, W.F. Kyle Franey, The Captain, Vito Salvaggio and last, but not least, Mercedes-Benz.
We've already started on next year's demo car - don't worry, we have plenty of new ideas.