 14AUTONETThe Edmonton Sun n Friday, November 19, 2010 sUppliEd phOTO Top Tuner 5, a 2010 Corvette, is one of two custom show cars for the 2011 auto show circuit.Top Tuners cruzin' alongA couple months ago, Mod Squad learned that Canada's Top Tuners were set toproduce not one but two custom show cars for the 2011 auto show circuit. Dubbed Top Tuner 5 and 5.5, the vehicles -a2010 Chevrolet Corvette and a 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, respectively - are to be overhauled at Serger Leger's shop Extreme Motorsports in Shediac, New Brunswick under the guidance of Tajai Das, President of Team ETC, and Edmund Manasan. The official debuts are still severalmonths away and only the donor Corvette has been delivered as of mid-November, so the entire project is still closer to its beginning than its end. That said, every story has a beginning and these provocative images might very well be ground zero for this one. TT5 will be built like a Le Mans-style race car with a super aggressive, low and ultra-wide stand to symbolizeits great style and performance according to Das. The car is currently being stripped of unnecessary factory parts and a miscellany of other pieces which will either be replaced or customized for the final product - a Top Tuner Le Mas Prototype. "The Vette should produce anywhere from 900 to 1,000 horsepower at the wheels using a ProCharger with an F-1R upgrade," says Tajai. Last year's ProStreet dragstyle Camaro (TT4) tapped out above 1,400 ponies and their previous Caddy CTS (TT3) made a little bit more than that, so, unbelievably, this is a step back for Canada'sshAUN kEENANMod SquadTop Tuners. Nonetheless, the LS powerplant, for example, is about to be torn apart and rebuilt with stronger guts and an intercooled ProCharger to bolster response and torque throughout the powerband. The stingray influence is quite obvious in Matthew Law's sketches and his rendering portrays its massive, bottom-sucking stance rather well. Oh, and until today, these have only been seen by current and potential sponsors. Think GM, Pioneer, Pirelli Tires, ProCharger, Strut and Turbonetics. Tajai says the custombody kit for TT5 will be scratchmade using fibreglass rather than carbon fibre, which is being reserved for exterior accents (mirrors, wing, spoiler and perhaps skirt) due to cost. By the look of things, the Leger's Henry's Autobody has its work cut out with the body mods and, while the Corvette now lay in pieces on the floor, the Cruze has yet to arrive. "The plan is to have a mildly-tuned street machine with beautiful accent pieces and body styling," says Das. "We will build something future buyers will be able to relate to andeasilyduplicate themselves." TT5.5 will be built with Cruze customers in mind, which explains why the rendering is a lot more subdued than the Vette one. Though its fancy footwork looks oddly similar to that of the LMP, it does show off the ETC Edition lip kit the guys have been working on. Not since the Top Tuner Solstice and Saturn Sky (TT1 and TT2, respectively) have the Top Tuners had towork with so little horsepower. So, as the punty 1.4-litre turbo four makes just 138 hp and 148 lb-ft., the Top Tuners will rely on Turbonetics to provide some extra pop under the hood here. We'll have to wait and see just howmuch more, though. The next wave of Top Tuner show-stoppers are slated to arrive on Canada's biggest automotive stage at the 2011 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto this February. As in previous years, Top Tuner 5 and 5.5 will be on displayinthe Chevrolet display throughout the CIAS. On the strength of winning its category at the recent AJAC TestFest, the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze isstill in the running to become the next Canadian Car of the Year, which will also be announced at the next CIAS. Even if it doesn't win (it's between this and the Ford Fiesta in my opinion) having Canada's Top Tuners modify a Cruze ought to help win back afew sportcompact carbuyers to GM. We want to hearfromyou! Send your comments, questions and stories to modsquad@journauto.com. Show us pictures and tell us about your modified tuner car and we might even feature it right here. modsquad@journauto.comAIRBAGS SAVE LIVES ALL-WHEEL DRIVE SAVES AIRBAGSPREPARE for winter with the manufacturer that builds all cars and sport utilities with symmetrical all-wheel drive as STANDARD equipment.RALLY SUBARU SUBARU CITY9404-34 avenue 1.888.441.0772 17708-111 avenue 780.484.77332008 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX#70987. 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