Starry Night Speed3: Amanda Kennedy’s 2007 Mazdaspeed 3

Starry Night Speed3: Amanda Kennedy’s 2007 Mazdaspeed 3

Photography by Donnie Rochin (@r0cean11)


Amanda Kennedy’s initial taste for cars came when she started to attend street and drag strip races in Dallas, TX with her best friend. She quickly became fascinated with modifying and building cars when she realized what she could create out of each platform. Initially, Kennedy focused on the performance aspect of her builds starting off with a ’98 Pontiac Grand Am, which was followed by a Gen V swapped Pontiac Grand Prix GTP that she stills owns and is soon bringing back to life, which brings us to her current car, a 2007 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3 that she picked up in 2015.

02 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

The Speed3 is different however, since the car started off with a good performance base out of the factory Kennedy took the show car route instead. The original plan, as it is for most car enthusiasts, was to just mildly modify it and build a fun street car. But as most of us know that rarely pans out, instead, Kennedy ended up building a full-on show car.

This particular Speed3 has gone through quite a bit. Initially when the car was bagged and wrapped, the first shop working on the car caused some serious damage, fortunately Everything Air (Modesto, CA) was able to save the car and even create the first fully functional pressurized rear strut brace.

01 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

Shortly after the car was set to receive a minor fender flare, but again the shop doing the work failed. Thankfully, the car was once again saved, this time by Anderson Motorsports LLC who was able to complete the body work and have the car looking as good as new.

Other shops that Kennedy is thankful for are Damond Motorsports because of their focus on the MZR platform, and CorkSport because of their constant pursuit to research and develop for this platform, as well as their impeccable customer service (special shout out to Brett from the CorkSport team).

09 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

"I was a teen meth addict and the Speed3 has been built in honor of the Grand Am that kept me sober," mentions Kennedy.

04 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

Keep an eye out for this build in the future as Kennedy isn’t done yet. This winter, she plans on starting the performance-side of things as there is currently motor work in progress so that the car will be able to support a Precision 6266 Turbo.

With 58% of the Popular Vote, Amanda Kennedy was the winner of the PASMAG Tuner Battlegrounds #TBGLIVE award category competition at Hot Import Nights: Portland.

Amanda Kennedy's 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 is featured in PASMAG #155 + Style Book #6. Click HERE to order.

15 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE


ESSENTIALS

Owner: Amanda Kennedy
Location: Whitewright TX
Vehicle: 2007 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3
Horsepower: 350 WHP
Facebook: Amanda Specht
Instagram: @ms3_mzrzoom

ENGINE

  • BNR S3 Turbo
  • JMF V1 Intake Manifold 
  • JBR EBCS
  • Treadstone TR8 FMIC with CX Racing piping
  • 3 Bar MAP 
  • Damond OCC
  • Damond rear, passenger & transmission motor mounts
  • 3" JBR turbo inlet pipe
  • Corksport 51R battery box + ECU container
  • Corksport hpfp + injector seals

EXHAUST

  • Corksport divorced catless downpipe + test pipe
  • LowKey Fab custom 3" exhaust


PERFORMANCE ELECTRONICS

  • Cobb v3 accessport + Tuned by Will @ Purple Drank Tuning

WHEELS & TIRES

  • CCW LM5 18x10 +19 front/ 18x11 +7 rear
  • Nankang NS-20 225/35R18 front / 245/35R18 rear
  • Sickspeed extended lug nuts (black & neochrome)
  • We Are Likewise spiked black jewel valve stem caps

DRIVETRAIN

  • ACT HD Clutch Kit 6 Puck Sprung w/ Prolite Flywheel

CHASSIS & SUSPENSION

  • Air Lift Performance air struts + rear lower control arms
  • Air Lift Performance 3H
  • Dominant Engineering toe end links + camber arms
  • Custom rear pressurized strut brace w/ dual 2 gal tanks (powdered to match wheels)+ dual black ViAir 380 compressors by Everything Air in Modesto, CA
  • Corksport front adjustable sway bar endlinks
  • Hotchkis rear sway bar

EXTERIOR

  • Garage Vary front lip
  • Autoexe badgeless front grill
  • Molded Nextmod rear spoiler lip
  • Molded DG Motorsports rear diffuser 
  • Custom metal widebody by Kimxon Ulterior Motives x Anderson Motorsports LLC
  • Evoke Dark Metallic Gray w/ Summertime Watermelon flake from Tropical Glitz
  • Deleted antenna, side markers and badging

INTERIOR

  • Custom black leather and pink suede with honeycomb stitching
  • Black suede wrapped pillars
  • We Are Likewise Lil Oozie Pink and Black shift knob w/ custom Hello Kitty shift boot

LIGHTING

  • Smoked led taillights
  • Black suede illuminated starry night headliner by Premier Upholstery, Sacramento CA

AUDIO & MULTIMEDIA

  • Alpine Type R 12" subwoofer
  • Alpine Type R door speakers + tweeters
  • Dual Alpine amps
  • Pioneer double din DVD player

FUTURE MODIFICATIONS

  • Turbo exhaust manifold
  • Full motor build to support a Precision 6266

SPONSORS

  • r0cean11 Photography

SHOPS/MECHANICS

  • Anderson Motorsports (Henderson, NV) @andersonmotorsportsllc
  • Built 4 Speed (Brentwood, CA) @built4speedinc
  • Everything Air (Modesto, CA) @everything_air_
  • Lesa's Auto Body Supplies (Las Vegas, NV) @lesasautobodysupplies
  • Premier Upholstery (Sacramento, CA) @premierupholsterysac
  • R&P Motorsports and Coatings ( Dallas, TX) @randpmc

03 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

05 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

06 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

07 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

08 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

10 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

11 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

13 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

14 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

16 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

17 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

18 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

19 Amanda Kennedy 2007 Mazda MazdaSpeed3 PASMAG TBGLIVE

Related Articles

Don’t Call It A Comeback: Brandon Rendon 1998 Acura Integra LS Don’t Call It A Comeback: Brandon Rendon 1998 Acura Integra LS
Building something from the ground up yourself can bring you the highest highs in terms of satisfaction, but losing it all in one fell swoop can put...
Kyle French's 2014 Nissan Juke Nismo RS Kyle French's 2014 Nissan Juke Nismo RS
The IMPUL NF15 carbon fiber wing completely transformed the look of Kyle French's 2014 Nissan Juke Nismo RS. It's a rare part and Kyle's favorite...
Complete to Compete: Michael Hart's 2004 Mazda Miata Complete to Compete: Michael Hart's 2004 Mazda Miata
The Jetstream kit with top sets Michael Hart's Miata apart from the many other Miatas out there. Our interview with Michael Hart, owner of this 2004...
A Different Form of Art by Jose Gonzalez: Custom Classic JDM Lights A Different Form of Art by Jose Gonzalez: Custom Classic JDM Lights
It's all in the details. A lot of our audience is familiar with Jose Gonzalez and his stunning Nissan Hako Skyline Godzilla. This was a favorite car...
Aman Bhogal's 1994 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R Aman Bhogal's 1994 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
A full build on the RB26 (forged pistons and built head) is in the plans for this coming winter. Aman Bhogal is hoping to hit 700+ horsepower on his...
Jamie Noelle's 2017 Lexus IS200t Jamie Noelle's 2017 Lexus IS200t
Rolling on a staggered setup with 19-inch Revo Forged RT55 wheels in satin/gloss black and green bolts (19x9.5 +15; front, 19x10 +25; rear) wrapped in...