There have only been a few times in the course of my employment here at NZ Performance Car that I have had to stand back from a car and simply say, “Wow”. Brendon Gilbert’s Madsoundz Mazda RX-7 and GAS Motorsport’s 6-second Celica are the only two rides I can currently think of that have had me lost for words in.

Recently I added another such jaw dropper to my very short list: Jordan Lee’s ridiculous Toyota Celica. Most will have already seen this car at one stage or another, whether it be in our magazine as we followed its latest monumental build up or at a show in any of its other three previous Spider-Man guises. Yes, that’s right, this car has been around the show scene for a very long time, originally using a stock body with custom Spider-Man paint scheme, then the all-metal wide-body look created by Dr Bob with another completely different paintjob, and now a complete reworking of the Celica body like you’ve never seen before. This, the latest and final incarnation, has itself been through two paint schemes after Jordan decided the first attempt just wasn’t right.

Jordan has consistently done things a little differently to everyone else in the scene, and this has always made for a very interesting watch as he built his Celica to crazier and crazier levels. It all started when he first laid eyes on an Audi concept car the vehicle that would eventually be watered down and released as the now extremely popular R8 supercar. Jordan absolutely loved the design and realised that the basic body shape of his Celica was a fairly close match to that of the Audi concept. In theory this was do-able, but it would require months of work by some seriously skilled professionals. Most people would give up when faced with the realities of the situation.

Not Jordan. He bit the bullet and took the car to Trevor Hansen Collision Repair.

Trevor has been in the game a long time and is an old hand when it comes to anything to do with bodywork. He knew this would be a monumental task but Trevor accepted the challenge and set about figuring out exactly how to tackle such a huge project. The answer, as it would turn out, lay in a lengthy process of conceptualising, measuring and trialling and that’s just to get started.

Once the new bodywork was mocked up and given the go ahead, Trevor got to work shaping foam into the appropriate form to create a completely new body look.

Essentially, this has altered every single panel of the car, in some cases widening the body by more than 30cm. Side skirts, bumpers and wheel covers were also custom made to match, and required hour upon hour of hard graft by Trevor and his team.

The task of covering all that custom body work was also given to Trevor, who got to work blending candy blues, blacks and reds to give a super-deep, lusty effect.

But it wasn’t until the car was rolled literally down the next driveway and into airbrush master Steve Levine’s Imagin-Airing workshop that it received the absolutely gorgeous and dizzyingly intricate spider-webbing and detailing that has wowed everyone who has laid eyes on it.

As the new body actually touched the floor, the need to lift the car to get it anywhere became very apparent. Airbag experts West Coast Hoppers fronted up with the goods and installed a full system and 10-switch controller so that Jordan could get the car rolling. In terms of the interior, Auckland’s Rapid Radio came to the party and began building one of the most extreme import show car interiors ever seen in New Zealand. Now a completely transformed space, the interior is a cocoon of smooth, flowing fibreglass and carbon fibre, bristling with the best audio-visual and computer gear money can buy. There is nothing else quite like it.

Even if it’s not your favourite car, there’s no denying that it is an absolute work of art. Jordan Lee’s Spider-Man Celica is simply what happens when you combine the skills of some of New Zealand’s most talented custom car builders with an awful lot of cash $120,000 for this final incarnation alone, to be exact. Although now residing in China, the Celica is still doing what it does best: wowing crowds at shows all over the massive country. We may have lost the car to bigger markets, but at least it is showing the world just what Kiwis are capable of. All it needs now is a 'Made in NZ’ sticker.

TUNING MENU

2001 TOYOTA CELICA

Engine: Toyota 2ZZ-GE 1.8-litre DOHC 16V VVTi, pod filter, custom 2.5-inch exhaust system

Driveline: Factory automatic transmission

Suspension/Brakes: Custom air struts, 3/8-inch brass valves, 3/8-inch lines, Viair compressor, 5-gallon tank, factory 4-wheel disc brakes

Wheels/Tyres: Custom wheel covers, 19-inch ROH alloys

Exterior: Complete custom fibreglass widebody, custom bumpers, custom side skirts, Holden Monaro GTO rear lights, custom red/blue paint, custom Steve Levine air-brushing

Interior: Completely remodelled fibreglass interior, carbon fibre inserts, custom steering wheel, track ball

ICE: Alpine head unit, 3x Soundstream Van Gogh components, 2x Soundstream Tarantula TR500/4 competition amplifiers, 6x Soundstream 12-inch subwoofers, 2x 17-inch LCD monitors, Soundstream 40-farad capacitor, Multimedia PC computer, custom fibreglass install, fibreglass door pods

DRIVER PROFILE

Le Han (Jordan)

Age: 25

Occupation: Student

Previously owned cars: None

Build time: 2 years

Length of ownership: 6 years

Jordan thanks: My parents, the guys @ Rapid Radio, Steve Levine @ Imagin-Airing