[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
MATT FARAH: People tend to compare supercars to works of
art, and worship them as such.
From their finely sculpted lines to their superior
engineering to the emotions they stir while behind the
wheel, it's easy to understand why they inspire people so.
And like fine art, the best supercars are
all about the details.
It has a 5 liter V8, like a Koenigsegg.
It has leather bonnet straps, like a Pagani.
It has lightweight body panels and a stripped
interior, like a GT3 RS.
It has an external speedometer, like an old
muscle car.
It has a big oil cooler, like a Corvette ZR1.
It has a trunk-mounted battery, like a Bentley GT.
It utilizes wood in its structure, like a Morgan.
It has airplane styles switches, like an Aventador,
and a fire suppression system because from where we stand,
this car is much more likely to catch on fire than any
Ferrari ever built.
What would it take for you to agree to test drive a car that
makes nearly 400 horsepower, weighs less than a Mini
Cooper, and was built by someone barely old enough to
vote in their parents' driveway?
If that sounds scary, that's because it is.
If a car is the sum of its parts, then Corbin's first gen
RX7 is a schizophrenic homeless man.
It's ugly, dirty, weathered, and an all-around disaster.
But, as often goes with these things, a car can be not only
far more than the sum of its parts, but a brilliant
representation of not only its creator, but also the
environment in which it is created.
And now it's time we meet this monster's creator, Corbin.
He's only 19, but for the past few years has dumped every
dollar he's earned delivering pizzas into
his mischief mobile.
CORBIN GOODWIN: Well, it's what started out as a 1984
Mazda RX7 with a 12 [INAUDIBLE] and an automatic
owned by someone who's probably dead now.
But anyway, I got it in a ditch in Fresno for about
$350, had to trailer it back, listened to Johnny
Cash the whole way.
And I decided that I needed something insane, something
that would try to kill me at any opportunity.
Life wasn't exciting enough.
Anyway, so I decided it needed a V8 and something that I
could really have fun in the canyons with--
not care about, beat on mercilessly, and that would
hopefully take it without breaking.
[CAR ENGINE]
CORBIN GOODWIN: The off-the-shelf components are
trick flow heads, Edelbrock manifold,
24-pound Cobra injectors.
What else do we have on there?
DFI fuel rails.
We have a Walbro pump going on.
We have a JEGS radiator with a custom mount bracket.
Half the stuff's custom.
Some Volvo ducting to keep the air
going through the radiator.
What else do we have?
BBK chromed long tubes.
We have a C&L intake, a 70-millimeter throttle body.
We also have a K&N filter, a 65-millimeter Thunderbird
supercharged MAF, a T5 with an unsprung 6-puck cerametallic
clutch, and a 12-pound aluminum flywheel with an ACT
stage 3 pressure plate.
That I didn't want, but it's the only one I had.
So I was like, whatever, send it over.
Used the RESpeed Coilover conversion kit, so it has
adjustable height hats 350-pound springs up front,
200s in the rear, Illumina five-way adjustable
dampers, full poly.
I have a little burn mark.
Yeah, you can barely see it from where I got molten rubber
burning up the old bushings.
Because this car just beats me whenever possible.
And also, camber plates to top it off.
MATT FARAH: And if you'll allow me a minute, I'll
explain why this rusted mess of a sports car is one of the
best home brew tuner cars I've ever driven.
To start the car, clutch in.
Three toggles at the bottom for ignition and fan.
Then the second ignition switch.
Then you kick the starter motor, it fires, and then you
have to shut the starter motor back off.
Nice, little shifter actually.
The e-brake works.
That's good.
Sunroof comes out, so I can actually fit.
[CAR ENGINE]
MATT FARAH: Sounds like a five liter Mustang.
You know what?
It runs great.
Temperatures are good.
The oil's good.
All the gauges work-ish.
So I'm showing a 7.3 on the fuel tank, which I think means
I have fuel.
It's running.
He said, don't trust the tack, trust the motor.
I'm not sure I trust the motor.
Whoa!
This thing is so sketchy.
CORBIN GOODWIN: I tried to adapt as many of the stock
instruments as I could.
Unfortunately, the gas gauge was not adapt-- well, it might
have been adaptable, but I didn't want to figure out the
resistances and how to wire it.
So I just went to Harbor Freight, got a $7 multimeter
and hooked it in ohms style.
That's hot rodding right there.
You go to Michael's, you get some glow paint
and a little brush.
You go to Harbor Freight, you get some cheap multimeter.
The gas gauge is full, or at 0, and it just gets higher in
the numbers.
And it fuel starves on left turns at about 70 ohms.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
MATT FARAH: Well, this thing's a piece of crap, but it's a
fast piece of crap.
CORBIN GOODWIN: It's a hot rod.
And to get philosophical for a brief moment,
what makes a hot rod?
It has to have rebellion, in my opinion.
And so there we have an offensive statement.
And we also have "free candy," which the cops don't like that
one very much.
And we also Pedobear and a troll face.
Basically, I didn't think it was making
people angry enough.
You got to troll on people with your car sometimes.
And I think this has done a superb job now that I have
jokes all over the thing.
[CAR ENGINE]
MATT FARAH: And I mean, is there a more obnoxious place
to drive this car than in the hills of Malibu, ruining these
people view, ruining their quite
peace, and just [YELLING]
with the ugliest, ricketiest, most obnoxious best car ever?
OK, wait.
Whoa.
All right, I thought I was going to die there.
CORBIN GOODWIN: Imagine for a moment that you're in a prison
during a prison break.
Now, this is going to be chaotic.
But now imagine all the prisoners are on PCP.
And they all have knives.
And it's almost that bad.
It's not quite there.
It's like the prisoners without the knives.
You go in.
You're driving it.
You turn, and it may understeer and you might die.
It may overseer and you might die.
Or you may be a total badass and get around the corner.
You just kind of take it corner by corner.
It reminds you every day that you may die at any moment.
Especially while driving this car.
That's what it's like to drive.
MATT FARAH: Something about this car makes you want to be
just a total dick.
I mean, like, what I love about Corbin is that with this
build, zero [BLEEP]
are given.
Zero [BLEEP]
are given to the paint.
It's all a big joke.
The whole car exists only for laughs.
And it makes you laugh.
Whether you're driving it, whether you just see him drive
by, whether he cuts a corner sideways at a zillion miles an
hour, you've got to laugh at it.
I will say this-- as an experience, as a car that will
keep you engaged whether you're sitting in traffic, or
on the canyons, or on the highway, this does provide far
more thrills per hour than, say, a Nissan GTR, which, when
driven at the limit is amazing.
When driven below the limit is boring.
Never a dull moment here.
While, yes, this car terrified me on camera.
Not for lack of capability, rather for the potentially
dire consequences of an otherwise small accident,
something happened over the course of our drive--
I got used to it.
Once you understand how to manhandle it, the Mazda no
longer becomes scary and transitions into a raw,
sticky, and very capable hoon mobile that would absolutely
dominate a lemon's race if only it were cheap enough.
CORBIN GOODWIN: Well, if I had to put it in a dealer's show
room, I would put at least a $3,000 price tag--
I honestly think people will think it's worth $2,000.
I mean, looking at it from the outside, it
clearly doesn't look--
it looks like someone took an RX7, and then just made it--
just put some jokes on it and put some wheels on it.
And that's not so far from the truth.
But in reality, there's about $13,000 worth of parts alone,
as many as I could get cheaply.
And then, about two years of labor, all which I did myself.
So if you value my time, which is questionable.
Then, considerable expense.
MATT FARAH: I think the most valuable lesson we've learned
so far this season on "Tuned" is that cars are a reflection
of their owners.
Look at the Hennessey Venom GT, I mean, that thing is
basically John Hennessey with four wheels.
Frank's crazy Lotus is an angry demon of death because
Frank is an angry demon of death.
Corey's drift car has naked zombies on it because this is
a guy who walks around with his own face on t-shirts, and
it's perfect.
It reflects the owner.
And Corbin's car, he wanted to go fast.
He lives at home with his parents.
He doesn't care what people think.
More importantly, he wants to get a rise out of people in
Malibu with all this money, with his
angry, fast, crazy RX7.
It has character coming out of every ghetto-drilled
hole in this car.
And that's what I love about this car.
This car is Corbin on wheels.
See you all next week.
CORBIN GOODWIN: Here, you see low down we
have our Corbin special.
It's the aero-plank.
It's not patented yet.
You can't use this.
Well, don't use this, please, until I get it patented, so I
can get money out of you.
Well, you see, we here at Corbin Motors have done the
finest testing in all conditions.
We went up Stunt Road, and then went down Stunt Road.
And repeated until the car could do it many
times without breaking.
And it almost is there.
We'll find out.