2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT

The Hyundai Tiburon has and probably always will be a forgotten soul in the sport compact world. However, to the fans of these V-6-powered, long-nose, short-deck hatchbacks, that doesn't matter in the least. They're die-hard enthusiasts to the core-the same sort of inspired folks who launched the import car craze in the early '90s with Volkswagens, Hondas and Nissans. People who refuse to hear what can't be done with front-wheel-drive, small-displacement vehicles. Daniel Olivares is a shining example, and even if he may not have graduated high school until long after the heyday of the JDM movement, that same spirit drives his love for his'03 Tiburon GT.

This self-proclaimed "Honda/Acura fanatic" admits he felt the need to go his own way early on in his search. "I looked at models like the RSX Type-S, Integra, Civic Si and so on, but as I did this I couldn't help but feel like I was following the norm. Being who I am, I started looking for something different, or unique, for lack of a better word." His "unique" came in the form of the then-new Tiburon. "Later that summer I picked up an '03 GT V-6 5-speed. I was hoping to get a 6-speed, but I was too impatient to wait for the dealer to find me one." Pay attention to this statement, boys and girls, because it could save you thousands of dollars in modifications one day! "By not getting the 6-speed version that I wanted originally, my car was missing some of the options that I was after." This is how the path to the dark side begins.

Starting with an OEM high spoiler for the rear and a metallic pedal set, Daniel was pleased with his car until he stumbled upon Newtiburon.com. "I came across the Korean version of the Tib and, all of a sudden, I found myself with this goal to make my car have all the options offered overseas. I started with the KDM badging conversion, followed by the KDM gas door and doorsills." From there, the bug had firmly taken root in his soul and he wanted a turbo kit. One small problem, no one made a turbo kit. In fact, only one shop-Enhanced Street Performance, in Sterling, Massachusetts-was even working on a prototype kit for the 2.7-liter V-6. Daniel kept tabs on the progress, and when the idea was killed off, he arranged to buy the prototype version. "For the next nine months, the kit sat in my room as I worked my butt off to get all the supporting mods; I was determined and found myself at one point working three jobs to save up-all of this while still going to school." Finally, parts in hand, he went back to Dave Brady at Enhanced Street Performance for the installation. We wish we could tell you it all went smoothly, but with used parts, this isn't always the case. The Subaru turbo was smoking under boost and worse, it was making unusual noises. The list of issues went on and on, and included a too-large intercooler, boost creep and a damaged air-conditioner condenser. Not exactly the high point of the project. Daniel and Dave kept at it, and they worked up a plan. They went to a Subaru TD05-20G, meant for the larger 2.5-liter Boxer engine, and had Blouch Performance weld the internal wastegate shut so ESP could fit a Synapse 40mm external unit and atmospheric dump. Daniel selected a Treadstone intercooler. Mounting it required flipping it upside down and welding on new 90-degree elbows (and a little creative bumper bar trimming). The results speak for themselves, looking mighty tasty in the lower '05-06 front bumper opening.