THE LEXUS BUILT IN TEXAS

No, your eyes don’t deceive you. This is a VIP car in Super Street! We know there’s been a lack of VIP builds in the mag and we do hear your cries. As the great President Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can’t please all of the people, all of the time.” So here is a one-of-a-kind, drop-top, widebody Lexus. But wait… There’s one more surprise! When it comes to Japanese luxury cars, you’ll almost always find a gentleman behind the build. But this fine example is woman-owned!

Jessyca Blood works for iSS Forged based in Texas, and she started her build at the time she was given the responsibilities for her company’s SEMA 2013 project cars. If you’re a SEMA builder or know of one, you can understand the road to SEMA isn’t the smoothest Jessyca was in charge of three projects, so she had her work cut out for her.

Prior to buying the IS 250 C, Jessyca’s friends from Mayday Garage had gone to Tokyo Auto Salon and showed her photos of the convertible when they returned it was love at first sight. Fortunately, you’ll see that this build doesn’t sport any pink accents, Hello Kitty swag or anything else atrocious you’d usually find in a female-owned car. Instead, the IS C has been equipped with the only widebody Aimgain kit in the U.S. The only other complete kit you’ll find is on the Aimgain demo car in Japan.

VIP or JDM, good wheels are essential for any build, and Jessyca comes correct with 20” RM-15s in gold.

As creative director for iSS Forged, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Under the bonnet, she took a minimal approach with painted engine covers, a Cusco front sway bar and a Takeda intake to aid in airflow. To achieve the right stance, Jessyca went with a full AirREX air suspension paired with SPC camber arms. “The car is totally streetable,” she explained. “I drive the car a few times a week. If weather permits, I always take it out, especially to events like Cars and Coffee.” But wherever she takes the car, it always stuns people that a woman owns it. Curious bystanders consistently ask her guy friends about the build. Little do they know…

Jessyca managed to pull off quite a unique build that created a buzz at last year’s SEMA show. “I wanted to make a quality build, so I wasn’t worried about winning car shows. I just wanted something clean, sleek, and classy,”  she concluded. We give her major props for finishing her car, along with managing two other builds for SEMA and becoming one of the first women  at the forefront of the North American VIP scene.

TUNING MENU

2010 Lexus IS 250 C

OWNER JESSYCA BLOOD

LOCATION HOUSTON, TEXAS

OCCUPATION CREATIVE DIRECTOR FOR ISS FORGED

ENGINE Custom-painted engine bay; Takeda intake; D3 quad exhaust tips

FOOTWORK & CHASSIS AirREX air suspension; Cusco front sway bar; SPC front and rear camber arms

BRAKES OE front big brake upgrade; cross-drilled and slotted rotors

WHEELS & TIRES 20x9.5” +12 front, 20x12” +13 rear iSS Forged RM-15 wheels; 225/30R20 front, 265/30R20 rear Hankook Ventus V12 tires

EXTERIOR 17-piece Aimgain widebody kit; Ultrasonic Blue Mica paint; Huper Optik ceramic tint, Swarovski emblems; LED strip fog lights

INTERIOR Swarovski Garson interior (push start, gear shift); custom microfiber and suede trunk setup