By Matt Stone
Reprinted from Motor Trend Magazine, August 2000
Movie stars and world-class athletes can afford to drive any
vehicle(s) they want. So it's interesting to see what they choose,
given that price isn't usually one of their criteria. Tennis
star Mark Philippoussis can afford as many Ferraris and Bentleys
as he fancies, but opted instead for this no-holds-barred Range
Rover 4.6 HSE. And seeking something "a bit more"
than stock, he turned his new HSE over to Becker Automotive
Design, whose client list includes a singer named Barbara and
a golfer called Tiger.
No area of this Range Rover was left untouched. For more punch
from the somewhat sluggish 4.6, on went a Cameron Concepts supercharger
system and a stainless steel, cat-back exhaust system. With
something like 350 horsepower, it's now as quick as on of "Flip's"
power-serves. Colorado Custom 18-inch alloy wheels are wrapped
by top-of-the-line Pirelli Scorpion Zero tires (285/55HR18s);
cross-drilled rotors, carbon metallic brake pads, and stainless-steel
brake lines complete the performance package.
The HSE's interior was stripped virtually bare, and nearly everything
you can see or touch was redesigned. What isn't covered with
superb Garrett leather is wrapped in a rich suede or blanketed
by the same wool carpeting used in Bentleys. The wood trim was
refinished with an aluminized paint material. Becker's strongest
suit is the conception, engineering, and installation of top-of-the-market
entertainment systems. We don't have enough space to list it
all: Sony provides the 10-disc CD changer, 7-inch LCD video
screens, DVD, Play Station, and a control unit that alone runs
$8000. Don't forget the Philips Carin nav system, Nokia phones,
fax machine, VCR, multimode seat massagers built into the front
buckets, and enough woofers, tweeters, crossovers, and amplifiers
to allow one to address the crowd at Dodger Stadium.
Given the home theater treatment inside, the exterior makeover
is subtle: a custom-fabbed hood, a bit of body-color paint,
tinted windows, and a few solid-billet pieces fashioned after
the owner's personal logo (you mean you don't have one?). For
all the hardware packed on and into this rig, the result is
amazingly tasteful, and a ball to drive. It goes, it handles,
entertains each and every occupant, and everything you touch
feels wonderful. How much for all this power, exclusivity, and
entertainment value? Let's just say it's on the strong side
of $100,000-plus the cost of the Range Rover.
