By daring to be different when it came to his choice of hot hatch, Thanakhan Sajjasakunchai’s been left with this savage, Garage Unique-tuned Citroen DS3 that you won’t be forgetting in a hurry…
There’s a reason us humans commonly all buy exactly the same products as each other. In fact, it can often make perfect sense to do just that. Think about it – would you be able to share files as easily with your friends and family if you all owned completely different brands of smartphone?
Following the trends can clearly make life a lot more convenient at times, but on the flipside, convenience certainly never helped anyone to stand out from the crowd. It’s something Thailand-based Thanakhan here has refreshingly been thinking about an awful lot in recent years, especially when it came to his choice of car. By boldly thinking outside the box, he’s now reaping the rewards more than anyone that follows the crowds could ever dream of…
“When it comes to small, hot hatchbacks, people always seem to choose between the same two or three cars,” Thanakhan explains. “You know the ones I mean… stuff like Fiesta STs and Polo GTIs.” Perfectly content with the fact that there was likely to be a reason for these machines being so popular right now, it didn’t stop him from digging a little deeper into the list of potentials to see if there was anything with a little more character that would be a better base for his ambitious plans moving forward.
And it didn’t take him long to uncover a seemingly overlooked gem: the Citroen DS3 Performance that – in this face-lifted trim – offers up a surprisingly potent 210bhp from its boosted 1.6-litre motor. To top it all off, the car’s quirky French styling was the ideal starting point for Thanakhan’s big plans to switch things up a little when it came to daring aesthetic tweaks.
Spec’ing his very own DS3 with this bright yellow paintjob for maximum impact, it didn’t take too long at all for the spanking-new car and its proud owner to swing by Garage Unique – one of Thailand’s best-known car tuners that’s become famous worldwide for its incredible, top-notch wide-arch builds.
Speaking to the team at this Bang Khen-based outfit, plans were soon forged to begin work on transforming the car’s bright body – something which had unsurprisingly never been performed before here. Garage Unique is perhaps best known for creating its very own custom body kits in-house to owners’ exact specs; something which Thanakhan was keen to utilise with his DS3.
Clearly more than a little inspired by the killer JDM street styles that’ve hailed from the Land of the Rising Sun in recent decades, the detailed brief that Thanakhan eventually settled on revolved around the mother of all body kits that would help to signify the sportiness of this particular model in a much more direct way than Citroen first intended. Leaving the car with Garage Unique for a couple of weeks, it left our man to patiently await the results of this serious operation.
It soon became very clear that the talented team had once again smashed it as Thanakhan began receiving cryptic photos as the build progress. And once the new parts were sprayed up in the correct colour, the results were truly better than anything anyone could’ve ever expected…
It’s all based around those aggressive arch extensions that completely revolutionise the entire look of the car – complete with plenty of abrupt lines and air vents that now give the car the thing the air of a military fighter jet. The re-worked bumpers complete with carbon fibre canards and lips only add to the drama, whilst that monstrously oversized rear wing mounted off the back of the roof is the perfect way to finish the work off.
Dropped on a bespoke K-Stance air suspension system, this left Thanakhan with the extremely tricky decision of what rims to slide underneath each extremely wide corner of his overhauled Citroen. And it didn’t take all too long to find the answer… “Garage Unique and myself both share a love for WORK wheels,” he grins, revealing his love for the premium hoops from this much-loved Japanese split rim brand. “I think my final choice is a perfect complement to the rest of the mods!”
And you know what? We think he’s right! Coming in the form of three-piece Meister L1 splits, finished in the bang-on-trend black-and-bronze colourway, we can’t actually think of any wheels which would suit the car any more than these beauties succeed in doing. Shod in super-sticky Yokohama rubber and finished off with the likes of multicoloured 326Power lug nuts, the car was fast taking the form of a show car fanatic’s wet dream.
With plenty of grunt on tap out of the box and with high insurance premiums threatening to cripple young Thanakhan’s wallet, the only upgrade to that already-potent motor under the bonnet is the crazy custom exhaust system whipped up by local outfit, Thokunart. With four huge shotgun-style exits that’re framed by that tasty carbon diffuser, it’s the perfect way to set off the rest of the angular bodywork (and allows the car to let off a much nicer growl in the process, too).
Inside, it’s no surprise to learn that Thanakhan’s headed right to the top once again to snap up a duo of sumptuous Bride reclining pews that are the perfect way to add a little more edge to the car’s quirky cabin.
Catching sight of this bright yellow beast rolling down the road nowadays, Thanakhan’s striking car serves as a much-needed reminder that, with a strong enough vision, it’s always better to swim against the tide if you’re looking to be different from the masses. By adding some much-needed aggression to this under-the-radar hot hatch, he’s created a machine that you’re not likely to see anything remotely similar to for hundreds of miles around. Because fitting in is so overrated, after all…
TECH SPEC: CITROEN DS3 PERFORMANCE
STYLING
Factory Jaune Pegase Yellow paint; full Garage Unique ‘GU Kits’ wide-arch body kit (comprising carbon fibre front lip, vented wide front arches with carbon fibre canards, carbon fibre side skirt lips, wide rear arches, carbon fibre rear diffuser, vented bonnet and GT-style rear spoiler); Zunsport front grille; MC LED headlights and tail lights.
TUNING
1.6-litre ‘Performance’ four-cylinder engine; custom Thokunart exhaust system with quad slash-exit tips, factory automatic gearbox.
CHASSIS
8.5x18in (front) and 9.5x18in (rear) WORK Meister L1 three-piece split rims with black faces and bronze barrels; 25mm wheel spacers (all-round); 326Power 60mm lug nuts; 235/40/18 (front) and 255/40/18 (rear) Yokohama Advan A050 semi-slick tyres; K-Stance six-valve air suspension system; Subaru Impreza STI Brembo front brake system (with four-pot calipers and 350mm drilled and grooved discs).
INTERIOR
Bride Stradia Venus reclining bucket seats.
SHOUT
Garage Unique, Thailand; Serialone Photographer.
Words Sam Preston Photography Serialone
