He Said He Drove a Toyota Funny
So who is Alex Kurdup and what is his GT86 all about?
In the real world, Alex is a manager in one of the largest companies in Russia, nothing really very interesting (his words, not mine). He lives in Moscow, rides a skateboard & snowboard and likes to shoot funny videos or at least he thinks they're funny (again, I'm not being rude, it's just Alex told me).
Being in the Russian car scene, he doesn't get it quite as easy as we do. Alex faces huge delays in getting parts that we could get in a couple of hours. He's also pretty fed up with feeling the spirit of the Soviet Union in every other build. Over the last couple years Alex has noticed a change in the car seen however. More and more builds are creeping up and more and more of them are breaking out of the Volkswagen mould.
Alex's car passion didn't start at a young age, in fact Alex has never really been very interested in cars. "I mean, I can't tell you engine indexes or engine sizes or torque figures of every Japanese car starting from 1960, like many JDM fans can. But I love good cars and I like to change and personalise them. I painted wheels on my car with a spray can five years ago, and I guess that is when it all started."
In 2013 Alex purchased his GT86, being pretty pleased he managed to get a manual. He drove it the whole way through 2014 as a standard white car on "those ugly factory wheels." When he traded in his old car he said it was like "Trading in your old Hyundai for a new Hachiroku, you can't even imagine that you can do something to it." But after a while Alex began to grow bored and knew that he wanted to start modifying it.
In 2015 Alex fitted coilovers, slapped on some XXR's and a set of tail lights, "yep, I didn't even know what I was doing." Last year was the start of the current look that you see in Alex's 86 today. He said he looked at the car from a different angle and wanted to make something really cool. "The whole sotry of this Pokemon is on my instagram." Yes he seems to call his car a Pokemon.
"I think, every 86 owner sooner or later comes to a widebody kit, because a stock 86 looks like a sad sedan (just joking). I've just always liked all these fenders, clips, ridiculously wide wheels and all that. I think this style is a masterpiece. I hope Tra Kyoto will read this."
So when he set out with the goal to put on a widebody kit, he went straight for the Rocket Bunny V2 fenders. Well he ordered v1, but ended up getting v2 - so he just ordered the rest. Then there's the camber, the 86 is just made to have crazy camber - it works so well. Just look how cool it looks from the back. Indeed, driving around on a car with 12J wheels with 8cm of contact spot is not the best idea, but it looks fantastic.
Alex told me he couldn't thank the people who helped out enough. Whether it was from the people that helped bring him parts orthose that installed the kit and the wrap, or simply just those that drove him around while the car was being worked at. He told us we wouldn't have enough space in our article but he was extremely grateful.
He also told us that he loved working on the car himself in any of the aspects that he could. He said,"But I love to do something myself with the car and an example of that is the fitment or the wheels".
"I can tell that this car isn't for everybody, but if it becomes your passion - it will be tough to get rid of it. I've drove a lot of cars, but nothing is more satisfying then my 86. Oh, and GTR is dope af."
So what's next for the car? Well currently Alex's bodykit is being rebuilt due to a little trouble with the rear fenders. The car is getting prepped for a complete respray. A turbo is on it's way and one more wing will be added. The wheels will be going back to a more respectable angle and the cars being focused more towards the track.
Photos by: Tanya Brew
Words by: James Preston & Alex Kurdup
Car Owner: Alex Kurdup
Source: https://ilbdriversclub.com/article/619/alex-kurdups-toyota-gt86/
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