It is no secret that I have been putting together the Downshift Top 10 of 2010 for a few weeks now. While it may seem like quite a small task, narrowing the best builds of 2010 and most prolific cars is definitely not a simple task. The car scene in general has been thriving so heavily this past year it has made it a solidly hard task to choose just 10 cars to give mention and praise too. So many deserving cars which is why once the Top 10 has been officially announced I will do a final post with Honourable Mentions, which will consist of 10 cars that came oh so close to making the list, but for whatever reason did not.

I drew such massive inspiration from Joey’s Honda dedicated blog The Chronicles, he has been running the Top 10 for 3 years now and it is definitely something I and a tonne of other people look forward to every year. So I thought how badass would it be if there was a Top 10 for QLD Cars. Many sites now run a sort of ‘Awards’ at the end of year, notably Speedhunters did a massive awards session on the lead up to the new year, with voting being done by the viewers. The Downshift Top 10 however is exactly that…the Downshift Top 10 (please take into account we are primarily based in QLD, so the cars in the list are QLD cars). It will no doubt ruffle some feathers and cause some people to get upset as to why exactly they did not make the list. So many factors came into play when choosing the final Winners. Things like build quality, how much was completed this year, what effect the car had on the scene, peoples opinions, if the car gets driven and the list goes on. The winning car will meet all of this criteria, better than any other car that I could think of. So if you are sitting there, thinking you should be on the list, 2011 is now upon us and there is a long 12months before the Downshift Top 10 of 2011 is finalised…so get cracking. I already know of car builds that are going to take the scene by storm in 2011.

Of course as with The Chronicles, myself and Ben have been throwing ideas around for sticker designs. 1 off designs that will only be for the Top 10 cars. They will be gold stickers to symbolise a trophy of sorts and prove that their car truly is an all rounder. Ben is still piecing it together but this is the design so far. Shit is gangster.

Now let’s get this started, first up is of course number 10.

10. Mercury Motorsport R35 GTR

Landing in 10th place for 2010 is the R35 GTR built by Tess & Trent and the rest of the Mercury crew. There are quite a few R35’s being built over here in Aus nowadays but none are as hardcore or pushing anywhere near the boundaries that this one is. Completely stripped down to one seat, making over 630awhp and running a myriad of carbon aero goodies, this GTR is not one to mess with. When it first appeared in its current guise at Jamboree 2010 it dropped jaws for all the right reasons.

Sporting what can only be described as one very hectic front bar, which is made entirely of carbon it is clear from the get go that this car has a very track oriented approach to life. But once you start walking around the car you start to realise that there is not one expense spared into making this the most intense 35 build in the country. The properly badass HRE C90 wheels, carbon GT Wing, ridiculous Titanium exhaust and all purpose OMP bucket seats, easily prove that money was not a worry in the making of QLD and probably Australia’s most intricately built R35.

The reason the R35 made the list was because it is leading the way in GTR superiority which will no doubt escalate even more so in 2011. The car is regularly tracked, attends copious amounts of events and is a regular runner on the Dyno at both Dyno days and large events. Proving the car is an all rounder and gets driven hard not just parked hard.

9. Stephen Motum’s 05 WRX

Steve’s WRX landed in the list thanks to him being on of the only people to really follow the killer American trend of low offset + slammed ride = badass stance. Don’t get me wrong there are a few Subi’s getting around with stance these days, but Steve was trying to achieve the look long before they knew that +20 looked boss on a WRX. No matter where Steve and BOO57Y go it snaps necks, everyone just seems to love the car and that is a solid reason why it made the list. Steve has been out at most meets and most car shows flaunting killer stance and serious carbon.

Starting out the year with some fairly flush Rota G-Forces the car had garnered quite a fan base. However fast forward to a few months before Jamboree and Steve’s new wheels, a set of Rota Grids in Bronze arrived in what can only be described as quite severe specs. As soon as they were on, Steve went from being “that guy with the clean WRX” to “that guy that I want to marry”. Following that up with a carbon front lip and rear diffuser, as well as swapping out his leb as hell leather interior for a fully stripped insides with Cusco Safety 21 Roll cage and two Bride Low Maxs. It is pretty safe to say no one from the Subaru camp in QLD is rocking stance as hard as Steve is and for that, I give serious props.

Whenever BOO57Y rocks up to a meet, with that orgasmic Dog Box whine everyone looks over and gawks. It harks back to the dope American scene so well, that is not an easy feat. Getting a Subi to sit that low with that sort of fitment is quite a hard task, not to mention rolling around with the serious carbon coin he has bolted to the front and rear. So you can understand why he earnt a place in the list.

8. Liam Humphrey’s R32 4 Door

8th place does not really need an explanation. Anyone who has seen Liam’s 32 in person will instantly agree on him being on the Top 10 list. The car oozes serious quality all over. The first time I saw the car when it was posted on Boostcruising I shot Liam a PM straight away asking if he wanted to roll to Jamboree with us. When he rocked up to the first meet spot, everyone was in awe of just how killer the car is.

Liam would have placed substantially higher in the list no doubt, however the 32 is quite the unknown car. If it had of never been posted on Boostcruising most people would never know it existed, including myself. Also Liam currently has the car apart doing some more engine work to it, suffice to say if he starts frequenting more events and ups the power this car is a sure fire contender for next year.

If Nissan were to release a R32 GTR 4door then Liam’s car is exactly what it would look like. Matched with some seriously stretched and wide gunmetal Volk GTC’s along side the Midnight Purple paint scheme this car belongs at the pointy end of QLD’s finest. But to really hammer home why this car made the Top 10, it is because it is an all rounder. Not only is it’s body work amazing, and its stance killer but Liam has actually swapped in a real GTR engine, an RB26 and it is now making around 490rwhp thanks to a big single. When I spotted Liam out at a Friday night drift session in the car I knew from then this car deserved a spot. Also you just cannot go past how good his number plates are.

7. Ash Coe’s EG Civic

I think most people knew Ash was going to be on the list, however most will be a little confused as to why only 7th. The reason Ash was not higher on the list is because currently the car is a bare shell and in pieces. The reason being I will not speculate, could be anything from moving onto something new or building something better, I will let you guys make your mind up. But the fact is he deserved to be on the list even though his car is not currently together. Ash spent the majority of the year blowing peoples minds. He was one of the first people to properly push the fitment boundaries on a Civic in Aus. Before Ash rolled along I had to look to America for hard stanced Civics. Not anymore.

What makes the car even more serious are the parts that complete it. Everything is genuine and baller as fuck, for a P Plater this is nothing but straight up gangster. BBS RS’s, Cusco Safety 21 Rooll cage, BYS front lip and rear spoiler, Bride fixed backs, a full B18CR engine swap, Reinhardt exhaust and the list goes on. The BBS RS’s are actually barreled to a pretty ridiculous 16×8.5 +6 running no camber. Even though in the pics it may look like he is running camber, that is just natural camber from the 5lug swap that the car runs. Ash has not been able to find anyone…in the world who is running those sort specs on stock camber arms.

There is no one reason why Ash landed in the Top 10, it sort of speaks for itself why. But when you see the EG rolling, from any angle it is hard not to just say “fuck” because of how badass it looks. Even normal people driving past cannot believe what they are seeing when they go past and for an EG to do that, well it certainly deserves a spot on here. Also I find it funnier because only two nights ago I told Ash the the rest of the crew that he didn’t make the list due to being in pieces. Suckers.

6. Brad Millers S2000

No surprise here really. 6th spot goes to Brad, but once again Brad didn’t get higher on the list due to the car, once again going through a change. He no doubt would have placed in the Top 3 if the car had of been finished. But still everyone knows this car, and knows how gangster it is. There is no need for me to go into explaining how many heads this car turns or how much of a crowd it draws because the car is practically famous.

The car is slammed, hard slammed. It rides oh so low, and on those Meisters it just sits so well. But the car is not merely about laying rail and looking good, oh no this car has a heart, and a fucking big one at that. The F20 has some help being powered by a Centrifugal Supercharger and pushing out numbers far past 400rwhp. I have always said that the cars in the Top 10 are all rounders and Brad’s car certainly stays true to that. But the reason Brad’s ranks so highly is because it is so original and beyond what anyone else is doing. Not to mention that people flock to it like a Tsunami when it rocks up.

This picture shows why he lands in the Top 10, a fully polished F20C supported by an equally as polished Supercharger. A little Downshift love never hurts either. Suffice to say, with the moves Brad is making for 2011 the S2000 is on the fast track to landing in the 2011 Top 10 as well. Big things to come from this car, very big things.

That is the first 4, stay tuned for the next 4 either later tonight or Tomorrow. Spot 1 will be posted all on it’s lonesome, but the post will definitely be worth it. Also Honourable Mentions are still to come, and their are quite a few cars in that list as well.
Rory.