Never Go Against the Factory – Evan Brown’s “ITEM-B” FC RX7 Returns

When we last saw Evan Brown (of Item-B) and his RX7, almost exactly a year ago, I was heralding its boisterous presence. I try to avoid superlatives, as they tend to lead to trouble and backtracking in the world of cars, but it only took one glimpse of Evan's car to know that it was, hands down, my favorite build on a Japanese platform. In the past twelve months, that sentiment has only grown, and today, we're excited to share the latest iteration. A number of long nights and some reinvention with Ian Dillon of Factory 83, the Item-B RX7 has re-emerged even better than before.

I won't fault you for not noticing the differences right away; the differences are subtle on a car that is anything but. The incredible livery from before was reworked, featuring a new colorway that shows off chrome, magenta, and blue as its main palette. The intense graphics hide the nuances that might go unnoticed: Paul Chamberlain at Wise Concepts took to the body, shaving tidbits like the third brake light, emblem holes, and the front signal lights.

Visible bodywork hardware was reduced to a bare minimum, and the Big Country Labs wing was mounted lower, for an overall sleeker and more-finished aesthetic. Custom wing endplates were machined by Jake Wolf Miller to add some flair to the car's aero, and a custom set of louvers were laid into the fenders by Wise Concepts for the fenders, which hide behind the glowing colors that adorn the bodywork.

Functionally, the car remains largely the same, still powered by the built LS1, tossing out the rotary in favor of, dare I say it, real power. That's necessary, seeing as Evan drives the car regularly, and its abuse isn't withheld to save beauty - a closer look will show patched bodywork atop patched bodywork, all of which is worn with pride.

We're excited to see what Even does next; hints of a built C33 Laurel have come my way. Evan, we have high expectations!