Check out our interior tidbits, which bring this 20-year-old interior more up to date. We’re very pleased with how things are coming along.
Project MKIV Supra: Part 13 – Nardi steering wheel plus more Stu Hagen and Speedhut gauges!
Last week we installed our new Corbeau RRB seats, replacing the previous Corbeau CR1s that were in our Supra for about seven years. Today, we adding more spice to our interior by installing new gauges (yes, again) as well as a new, Italian-made steering wheel.
The Supra's factory interior was great, especially for its time. Think about it, the car was released 22 years ago! When you climb into a Supra, the factory cockpit engulfs you. Righ in front of you, and in Ferrari and Porsche fashion, nestled directly behind the steering wheel sits the 8000 RPM tachometer (not the speedometer, like in most cars, which in this case sits to the right). The center instrument panel is curved toward the driver, as if it doesn't mind what the passenger thinks. And who really cares what they think or see anyway? This is my–the driver's–time. Besides, all Supra passengers ever do is scream, laugh, or make stupid faces.
While some purists may disagree, there are parts of a Supra's interior which are somewhat outdated by today's standards. And since an average car owner spends most of his or her time looking at the car from the inside rather than the outside, he or she can benefit greatly from the enhanced driving experience by updating the interior.
Previously, the stock Supra interior would talk to us, so to speak. It was as if it was telling us to “get in and enjoy the ride.” After today's installments, however, it seems more like it's grabbing us by our Member's Only label, demanding different ways it wants to scare its passengers (and sometimes its very own drivers).
Today we’ll be installing this lovely Nardi “Challenge” steering wheel, which we ordered from Nardi’s USA importer, JHP USA.
In 1937, Enrico Nardi became Ferrari’s first test driver. He later became a business consultant to Enzo. Nine years later, he started the company ND with a business partner, and then relaunched the business in 1958 with Ferrari. By then, many Ferraris were sporting Nardi wheels from the factory.
In 1988, Nardi passed away and two years later the company was picked up by one of its competitors, Personal, which relaunched ND as Nardi Italia S.p.A, the name that it goes with today to this day. Since the relaunch, Personal and Nardi wheels have been used by factory car makers like Ferrari, Lancia, Audi, Maserati, Lamborghini, Rolls Roys, Jaguar, Lotus, TVR, McLaren, VW, Abarth and BMW.
JHP USA, the USA importer of Nardi and Personal wheels, also sells Momo, Mugen, and Spoon steering wheels, along with a plethora of other automotive aftermarket enhancements.
Since Part 12, we resent our instrument cluster to Stu Hagen for our original order, which was with a silver center and 200 MPH speedometer with red TRD lettering. What you saw in Part 11 was only temporary until he could get the correct gauges from his supplier.
We’ve also replaced our old-school Omori mechanical boost and digital EGT twin gauge with this custom “MotoIQ”-inspired boost gauge from Speedhut Inc!
