ALL SHOW, ALL GO

BY ADAM FISHMAN

Valencia student Vince Minko, 25, has always had a knack for re-inventing himself. The same goes for his three rides. Minko owns a 2000 Acura Integra GS-R, 2004 BMW M3, and 2004 Subaru Impreza STI. All three of his “babies” would never fit his personality if they weren’t modified, and your average import modifications are certainly what these cars are not. Minko has created three beautiful machines that not only re-invented him, but re-invented the import car scene as a whole. Any import enthusiast might give their pinky finger for one of these cars, possibly give up sex, and that goes for girls or guys. They might even kill to own one of these engineering/modified geniuses. If Minko did ever decide to get rid of one of his cars, you can acquire one for a large sum of money; keep your pinky finger.

Minko began his expedition as an import enthusiast at the ripe age of 15. “I had always been into cars since I was young, my parents weren’t going to help me get no V8 Mustang, and so I had to go with an import.” His first car was a 2000 Toyota Celica GT. He was the first enthusiast in the U.S. to modify the new body style Celica with performance exhaust and cold-air intake. Minko wasn’t satisfied with the quickness of his first car; he decided to trade in the Celica for what would become his first lengthy project, a 2000 Acura Integra GS-R. He acquired the Integra, also known as the “Teg,” in August 2000. “I’ve been through so much with that car.” Minko has transformed the Integra numerous times until he molded it into what you see today. The first thing that catches your “try not to stare too hard” eye is the custom design wide body kit. The “teg” also features custom offset Volkray rims, 18 inch x 8 inch in the front and 18 inch x 9 inch in the rear. The frontend of the vehicle has been JDM converted, along with JDM headlights. That’s Japanese conversions for those of you that don’t speak import. The interior has a full roll cage, four point harness racing seats, and DVD/Navigation system. The most important part of the vehicle, the engine, has been custom built along with an intercooled turbo system that boosts the car to a compelling 500 HP. All the hard work, debt, and sleepless nights that went into making the Integra have reaped its benefits. Minko’s “teg” was used as an extra vehicle in a street racing scene during the filming of “2Fast 2Furious.” His car also had a six-page feature in the popular import magazine, “import Tuner.” The Integra won hottest Acura at Hot Import Nights in Orlando in 2008 and in Miami in 2006.

Owning a vehicle like Minko’s Integra GS-R would satisfy most, but Minko always strives for more. His “daily driven” vehicle is a 2004 BMW M3. “The bimmer is my favorite out of all my cars as far as looks, style, and overall appeal.” Minko acquired the M3 in February 2007. The most striking aesthetic component of the vehicle is the color. The M3 features a Laguna Seca blue; 1 of 12,000 in America. The upgrades Minko has on the M3 are all done by the European tuner Hamann. The rims on the car are Hamann limited edition chrome 19 inch x 9 inch in the front, and 19 inch x 10 inch in the rear. Minko’s M3 has all Hamann cosmetics such as a front lip and eyelids over the headlights. He also threw on a titanium exhaust to amp the “bimmer” to a modest 350 HP. If you stop into Fields BMW on south O.B.T you will see Minko’s M3 prominently displayed on one of their Televisions. Not bad for a daily driver, huh?

Minko pushed the import game to another level in March 2009 when he acquired his third vehicle. He added a Subaru Impreza STI to his stable of pedigrees. “My STI is just ridiculous.” Minko’s M3 and GS-R are enough to make head turns, the STI completes the trio of beauties causing people to break necks. Minko’s STI has a Chargespeed wide body kit straight from Japan. The STI has custom 20 inch x 10 inch Mayas rims in the front and rear. The interior features all black suede, four point harness racing seats, DVD/Navigation, detachable race steering wheel, and built in scrambler, so the cops can’t actually prove you were going 105 MPH in a 65. Minko’s STI also comes equipped with a Greddy T67 turbocharger. Oh yeah, not to mention he has four 20 gallon Nitrous tanks tucked conveniently under the passenger seat. All in all, his STI pumps out around 600 HP. His work on the STI has also paid off, Minko claimed hottest Subaru at Hot Import Nights in Orlando in 2007.

“The whole import scene and subculture has had such a positive impact on my life, I’ve been in a movie, magazine, and I got to travel to other countries. People come up to me that I don’t even know, they ask me questions about my cars, it’s like I’m a celeb in the import world.” Throughout Minko’s success as an import enthusiast, he always remains humble and doesn’t have the typical ego most car enthusiasts possess. He continually strives for more, “one day I want to own a R34 Skyline or a Ferrari F430.” “It would also be nice to own a house that can hold more cars then what I have now.” If you’re lucky enough to catch Minko out in one of his rides, it wouldn’t be advisable to try and compete with him. His cars are all show and all go, don’t hate.