NZ Performance Car – October 2019

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right around the time the Rocket Bunny kit had just been released

— that was the tipping point.”

Despite the car having just been painted, it was soon back

in the booth for the new Rocket Bunny panels — made up of rear

over-fenders, side skirts, front guards, and a front bumper — to

be licked in that same Mazda hue. Allan has vented a factory

bonnet to suit, drawing inspiration from the JGTC GT300 RX-7s,

and the Buddy Club rear bumper remains where it has been since

the Autosalon days. The result is a seriously aggressive exterior

aesthetic that has rocketed the styling straight into the modern era,

aided by the brand-new 18x9-inch SSR SP5s that it’s sitting over

and the sharp-edged front splitter–and–canard combination. You

rarely see drastic rebuilds completed to this extent, especially on

cars that have seemed to have been lost to time.

The interior hasn’t escaped the same treatment as the rest of

the car. The cream and black retrimmed panels and punch-packing

audio have been put aside in favour of a stripped-out vibe that sees

nothing more in place than an Alcantara-retrimmed dashboard

and door cards along with Bride seats. It’s an all-business package

in the cabin, much like what you’ll find underneath. Those bags are

no more, with BC Racing ER Series coilovers in their place, along

with Hardrace sway bars and adjustable arms, Energy Suspension

polyurethane bushes, braces up the wazoo, and a Wilwood big-

brake package.

So, while we may have been without a future iteration of

DVI0US for a good decade, what Allan has achieved with this

old show-battler has well been worth the long wait. Renamed

‘VCI0US’ to match the aggression it now packs, it’s an inch-perfect

nod to the ways of old from someone who was right there in the

thick of it, and a package that would undoubtedly rival anything

found currently on the show circuit, both here and across the ditch.

There’s a comfort to be found in the fact that, as time carries

on and most infamous show cars from decades past become

very seldom seen, there’s at least one still out there doing it and

managing to show up the next generation with its own style —

even if it’s on the wrong side of the ditch!

Filling that Rocket

Bunny widebody

ain’t an easy task,

which is why Allan

ordered a fresh

set of SSR SP5s in

18x9 inches and

wrapped them in

225/40 Bridgestone

RE003 rubber

SHOES

WHEELS: 18x9-inch SSR SP5

TYRES: 225/40R18 Bridgestone RE003