Out of the Ordinary....

The modern Corolla is a very boring and uneventful car. It is a mere a tool for the normal individual to transport himself from point A to B. No soul, no character (Looks silly too). So were the previous generations to a certain extent. But unlike the newer versions the older generations, devoid of the many electronic sensors and fish like looks have more tuning possibilities than its modern counterparts! And that is exactly the story over here with this one! 

The Corolla has got to be the most popular automobile in Sri Lanka. Been very reliable and frugal the Corolla serves many Sri Lankan's old and young alike. It has always been the first choice over other brands like Nissan and Mazda. From the 90's era the two most popular editions were the AE100 and AE110.

The model here started out as a bland 1300CC 4 Cylinder Automatic AE110 (Series 1) Toyota Corolla. But since it left Japan's shores the car has changed by leaps and bounds!

Modified Corolla's are a very common practice in South East Asia. But this one here is probably the only Corolla that has been done right in Sri Lanka! In this age of Bondo filled wheel arches and inglorious wings this car has been given a very subtle treatment. 

The front grille has been debadged and made to sit flush with the hood. The front bumper too has got the smooth treatment and a very subtle front lip has been added to give the car a very purposeful look. 

Its the lights though that really change the appearance. The front indicators and headlamps have been smoked. 

The same goes for the rear. Smoked tail lamps and two small lips have been added to the rear. No fancy spoiler on this one!

No Tune No Life! True Story bro!

A shot of the aftermarket back box....

.....which is connected to a 2' straight through exhaust system. You can see it peaking out from here.

Lovely 16' multi spoke wheels complete the look with a simple set of side skirts added to the mix. 

All in all makes it look very unique. Not too much, neither is it too little. Just the way i like it! 

Now to the most important bit of the car. The reason why its so unique is because of its performance modifications. Keen eyes would have noticed the hood scoop, well its no rice mod....

Its there to keep the Turbo charged 4EFTE engine cool. Yes, the same engine seen in the awesome Starlet GT has been dropped into this. 

As far as mods go the internals of the engine have been left stock. But the straight through exhaust and K&N  air intake make the car breathe in and out more easily. A HKS blow off valve also makes other drivers aware of what is hiding under the hood. To make it stop quicker rear disc brakes have been added. 

It might not be packing some mighty punch but it still will leave your riced up bondo filled motors at the lights and maybe some others as well, because in essence this Rolla is a very light weight car. It doesn't even have power windows! The meter board gives away the secret that it was once an Automatic.....

Interior mods have been kept to a minimum, other than a boost gauge and an HKS Turbo timer. A Momo steering wheel and a Drift spec gear knob make driving slightly less mundane. 

All in all it makes a great car! It might not be the choice of most, but as a fellow Rolla owner (But of a very unique variety) I absolutely love it. Simple but yet very interesting! I hope and pray that we see more cars done up like this. Big Thank you to Charith Gunawardena for letting me shoot his pride and joy!

By Charith Kulasiri