I’m not gonna lie, this feature here has me all hot and bothered. When I first saw pictures of this GS, I’m pretty sure I broke my jaw and proceeded to run around my room screaming. I was never much for the third-generation GS, but that was before this car came around, and now it’s a car that I can’t stop thinking about. It’s a story I’m all too familiar with; a chance encounter with a car that just crawls right under your skin and gets you all flustered. You can only press ‘Like’ once, and you feel kind of down about it when you see a picture posted on Facebook or Instagram. That’s this car for me, and now I’m writing about it, and feeling about as giddy as a teenage girl going to a One Direction concert.
Photos By: US-VIP exclusively for StanceNation.com
I’ve talked a lot in past articles about Liberty VIP, and how prominent of a crew they are when it comes to the VIP scene in the US. When it comes to VIP styling in the US, you don’t need to look much further than them. The last few years has seen the Liberty family expand into Canada, and it should come to no surprise that Daisuke Shibuya-san’s GS here is part of Liberty’s recent expansion into Japan. Just like the teen-sensation boy-band, Liberty VIP is an international sensation, however I feel the members that make up Liberty VIP are a lot cooler and produce more than just a one-hit-wonder. Every car in Liberty is a platinum hit, and it’s that standard of quality that makes them one of the most respected crews around, but this GS is my favorite yet.
So what makes Shibuya-san’s GS so special? Well, when it comes to aggressiveness, presence, and in-yer-face attitude, there are few cars that top this one. It’s the overall package of how everything came together on this car that make it what it is, and not just one part that puts it over the top for me. The Matte black paint, OEM+ body work, the wide, black Work wheels, and the matte purple accents work so well together, and everything plays off one another, and makes this third-gen GS one of the best around. That’s a tall order given some of the third-gen GS’ and GSs we’ve featured here, but in terms of the overall package and presence, not many come close to this one.
We’ll start with the exterior which is the area of the car that’s received the most attention so far. While the car exudes aggression, you won’t find any wild kits or flares that stick out and scream, “LOOK AT ME!” Instead, the body modifications carried out on Shibuya-san’s GS are a bit more subdued and subtle, yet don’t take away from the aggressive demeanor of the car. The biggest challenge and hardest part of the build so far has been the fenders and quarter panels. Shibuya-san wanted to keep things clean and original looking while widening and radiusing the panels a fair bit, and I’d say mission accomplished. The front fenders were widened 6cms on each side, and radiused 5cm up. In the rear, each quarter panel was widened 7cm and radiused 6cm up. The front bumper is a later-model kouki bumper modified with a Lexon Exclusive front lip. To match the work done to the quarter panels, both rear doors were widened to meet the beefed up arches. Finally, to add a little US flair, Shibuya-san threw in a set of US-spec headlights and tail lights.
All that work to the fenders and quarter panels wouldn’t mean a whole lot if there wasn’t a set of ridiculous rollers to fill them with. Shibuya-san definitely didn’t disappoint in this area either. The black and polished Work Gnosis HS201s on this GS are ridiculously fat and ridiculously large. Coming in at a gargantuan 20×10 -41 in the front and 20×11 -47 in the rear, these wheels have more than enough dish to make wheel geeks tight in the pants. The rolling shots prove it; you can’t go wrong with a big, low sedan with steam-roller sized wheels, and so much lip you can’t see the faces. It’s class, it’s elegance, it’s I-want-to-step-on-your-face-with-my-size-14s, and goddamn does it look good.
To get his GS sitting just right over the Work Gnosis, Shibuya-san went with an air setup, and like the rest of the car, he didn’t cut corners. Arguably the best in the business when it comes to a complete, bolt-in, kit for these cars, Shibuya-san’s GS is running an AirRunner TC-5 system which features both ride height AND dampening adjustment via a digital controller. With both dampening and height adjustments available at his fingertips, Shibuya-san is able to adjust his car’s suspension quickly and easily, but he just rolls around in full-on Boss-mode all the time because that’s just how he gets down. To fine tune the camber and other aspects, Shibuya-san has a slew of custom built arms to get his stance millimeter perfect.
Perfection. That’s what we all strive for. We want our cars to be perfect in our eyes. While I feel that this car pretty much perfect, Shibuya-san tells us that this car will never be finished. He’ll always find something to change, although he hints that his next focus will be on the interior and another set of wheels. Perfection also seems to be the standard that Liberty VIP has set for their crew. I mean, when have you not seen a less than perfect car from them? Obviously they aren’t content with their domination of the VIP scene in North America, they are now off to show Japan how Liberty VIP rolls, and with a front-man like Shibuya-san it’s going to be one hell of a show. Stick around. This isn’t the last we’ve seen of Liberty VIP. World domination? Don’t hold it against them…
[toggle_box]
[toggle_item title=”Wheels/Tires/Suspension” active=”true”]WORK GNOSIS HS201
F：10J×20inch Offset -41
R：11J×20inch Offset -47
NITTO NeoGEN （F：235/30-20／R：245/30-20）
AirRunner TC-5 Air Suspension
Custom built Full Arms
Painted Stock Caliper[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Exterior” active=”false”]Matte Black Paint
KOUKI/後期 Bumper
Lexon Exclusive Lip spoiler
US Head Lights & US Rear Lamp
Front & Rear Custom Fender（F：5cnUp & 6cm Wide／R：6cm Up & 7cm Wide)
Rear Door Widened[/toggle_item]
[/toggle_box]