Handle With Care: Mason’s IS300 SportCross
I first met Mason back in 2018 during a show called Stoopidcold in Memphis, Tennessee and that brief encounter was my first introduction to his SportCross. I had spent the most of that weekend either shooting cars or cruising around Memphis with my friends, but it wasn’t until right before I left that I saw it. At the time, it was a vibrant blue, on air suspension, and sporting a full set of SSR SP1Rs. A couple of snapshots were all I got of it and I knew that at some point down the road I’d have to get more. So you could say this shoot was two years in the making and obviously a lot has changed since then, so let's get into it.
A quick scroll through Mason’s Instagram reveals that his SportCross started as a completely stock, very common silver car. During his four years of ownership, air suspension, blue vinyl wrap, and a handful of wheels wildly varying in their collectible status have all adorned this chassis prior to its current setup. The immediate visible changes aren’t the only thing worth addressing here. No longer is the “just kinda there” 2JZ-GE anchoring the chassis to the ground, in its place sits a 1JZ-GTE in stock trim, but if the ever changing nature that’s been established continues, this won’t be the case for much longer.
A touch more visible is the hard to come by, highly desirable black interior. From the driver’s seat, you’re nestled between a wood-grain Nardi wheel and a five speed shifter that connects you to the recently swapped in R154. The black and silver accented Defi gauges perfectly match the similarly toned interior pieces enhancing an already great interior with a functional driver focused aesthetic. In short, nothing looked out of place here. It’s what I’d imagine you’d get from Toyota if they bothered to give the American market a cool, up-market IS300.
The exterior of the car? Well I doubt you’d see anything resembling this leaving a dealer lot back in the day, but that’s all for the better. Something about the black body just accentuates the wagon proportions and makes it feel much larger than it actually is. Combining the color-enhanced wagon proportions with the lowered, newly-static stance and staggered gunmetal Kansei KNPs the SportCross is a far cry from it’s former bland, stock self as it now looms, just barely above the ground, with a domineering presence. When I stood in front of it, as one does while shooting, I spent a lot of time taking it in, trying to think of how to capture it best, but I kept finding myself thinking just how well everything works together. It's not over the top in any one regard, but the entire package comes together quite nicely and despite it’s more obvious signals that it’s been modified, you’re going to have to take a good look to see all has been changed. That kind of modification is something I appreciate, as it takes considerable effort to make things work together in a cohesive way to create a unified aesthetic.
I could continue to ramble off aero bits, and other things I’ve omitted from mentioning, but what spoke to me the most is Mason’s commitment to doing it right. Over the course of several years this car has changed multiple times, but each stage is handled with as much care as the last. I’m sure what I captured here isn’t it’s final form and I can safely say that whatever Mason has planned for it in the future will be a massive step above where it’s currently at because that’s just how he operates. I know those that are familiar with Mason’s SportCross might prefer the older iterations or what have you, but I greatly enjoy its current form. I’m sure it will continue to grow into something much greater under Mason’s ownership, but what I’ve captured here is a point in its history where everything has come together beautifully and shows that even if it's not at its final destination, that the journey can be just as wonderful and enjoyable as if it was.
At the same time I was shooting this with my friend Ben, we also were shooting Mason’s GX470. I’ll admit I don’t know that much about it, but damn if it didn’t look badass as well. A perfect companion to the SportCross, albeit an entirely different one in nature. Mason also puts on a show called Riverside every year in Chattanooga, Tennessee that you should check out!
