Simply Off The Map
If a more luxuriously conceived Suburban exists, we've never
seen it
Edited by Matt Stone
Reprinted from Motor Trend Magazine, June 1999
Actor/rapper Will Smith is on a roll: His recent movies are
hits, his CDs bag sales and Grammy Honors, and he's got a fabulous
wife (actress Jada Pinkett). It probably goes without saying
that he's financially comfortable and can drive just about anything
he wants. But you won't see a million dollar McLaren F1 in the
Smith/Pinkett driveway. Just an average, everyday Suburban.
Sure. . .
To say that Will's new Sub is an average truck is to say that
Mark McGuire is an average hitter. Yes, it began life as an
off-the-rack '98 7.4 liter 2500 Suburban 4x4, but then Will
turned it-and about $120,000-over to Becker Automotive Design.
You may never have heard of Howard Becker, but folks like Barbara
Striesand, Jerry Seinfeld, and Steven Spielberg know him well.
They, and a host of other entertainment and business glitterati,
are Becker's customers. They want the best. And they can afford
it.
Becker is known for designing and engineering Tinseltown's
most outrageous sound systems, yet it's far more than just
a stereo shop. "We approach the vehicle from three viewpoints:
sound/entertainment, performance, and styling - both interior
and exterior," notes Becker, who's been fiddling with
star's cars for better than 20 years.
Nearly every square inch of the Sub's interior was stripped.
Everything you can see, touch, or sit on has been redesigned
and upgraded to Lear Jet quality levels. Custom bucket seats,
front and rear, are upholstered in European leather, while
the headliner and contrasting trim areas are done up in rich
suede. The wool carpeting is the same as that found in a Rolls-Royce.
The deliciously black Japanese ash burled-hardwood trim is
custom made in Becker's shop, as are the consoles, speaker
enclosures, bracketry, and just about everything else inside.
There's more communications gear in here that you'll find
in Air Force One. Its sound system is a mind - and ear - blowing
combination of Sony, McIntosh, Soundstream, Kimbler, AVI,
and dynaudio componetry, plus enough speakers to broadcast
the Super Bowl. Toys? How about three liquid-crystal video
monitors offering their services to a Sony DVD, stereo VHS,
TV tuner, Nintendo 64, and Sony Playstation. Don't forget
the two cell phones, Phillips Carin Nav system, and the refrigerator
in the back (no joke). Naturally, the entire truck's electrical
system was totally reengineered, using custom crossovers,
the best speaker and electrical wire available, and no fewer
than three batteries with s multiple charging system.
Colorado Custom 18-inch billet wheels are wrapped by Bridgestone
Dueler HT Tires. The suspension received a through workover
to improve handling, while dealing with the increased weight
of the interior hardware - Will's Suburban tips the scales
at an all-conquering 7170 pounds! Anti-roll bars were enlarged
front and rear, and most of the bushings were swapped for
polyurethane pieces.
The stock 454 was treated to a Whipple supercharger, Thorley
headers, custom exhaust, engine management system, and transmission
shift program revisions, 4.56:1 front and rear diff gears,
and a host of other powertrain upgrades. The exterior restyle
is subtle yet imposing. Bumpers were smoothed out, custom
fender flares fitted and a billet grille and set of Smittybilt
running boards pretty much sum up the upgrades - with everything
painted black.
But the real beauty is in the driving. You're surrounded by
lush materials, entrenched in home-theater-quality sound, and
going faster than anything this big really ought to go. Despite
its weighing some 1500 pounds more that a stock ¾-ton
Suburban, Will's Sub bellows to 60 mph in just 6.9 seconds (as
opposed to 9.4 in unmodified form). We simply don't have the
room to adequately describe the depth of this rig's metamorphoses,
but suffice it to say that it's extraordinary in every way.
The world's most awesome Sub? We say yes.
