FEATURE: TEAM AGENTZ

Words: Jason Hanif. Photos: Jordan Donnelly.

All around the world, small groups are found within communities where like-minded people have grouped together as a result of their shared interests. It’s exactly the same for car enthusiasts and modifiers, who collaborate and create their own sub-styles based on a particular shared taste. To explain this concept, we recently spent some time getting to know the Melbourne based car club known as Agentz.

We’ve known the team and a few of their members for quite some now and it doesn’t take long to realise that their focus is on fitting rare, quality wheels, to predominately Euro vehicles. More importantly, they actively get together on regular occasions just like a family. Started by three individuals, Daniel, Kit and Raymond, the team now incorporates over twenty select members. “Agentz first began in 2003, when a few friends and I came here to Melbourne to study at university. All of us actually met here in Melbourne and it wasn’t long before we all discovered our love for cars”, explains co-founder Raymond.

Their lineup is a quality over quantity approach, although Raymond insists that they’re a very casual team. “If I had to sum up Agentz, I’d say that we’re quite a laid back crew, we like to attend as many car meets as possible and especially represent at the Stanceworks meets and FYS meets here in Melbourne; organised by Oxer and Vyets respectively. Those meets are the best way to escape our busy schedules, get out together and socialize with others in the car community who share the same passion. It’s always great to meet the new kids and network!”

Defining the team as ‘laid back’ is an understatement in our opinion, especially when taking a closer look at the parts on their cars. This right here is Raymond’s E46 3-series sedan. The Air Force suspension combined with OZ Breyton wheels in 17×8.5 -2 up front and 17×10 +14 on the rear go hand in hand. The car has since been parted out with Raymond upgrading to a 5-series. Sydney readers will be pleased to know that the majority of parts are making their way up to the first interstate member to represent the team, more on that soon though.

Twenty-year-old Reece’s Toyota Camry would have to be one of the most unique cars in the lineup and we admire his courage in executing something different in Australia. 19 x 9.5 and 19 x 10 SSR’s on a Toyota Camry was almost unheard of before Reece fitted them onto his car. It’s been creating a stir ever since and for a young modifier he’s on the right track whilst being different to the regular crowd.

“I like to be unique and try to do things no one has ever done before. This Camry is my first car and I wanted to be different. I loved the potential that this generation Camry had before purchasing it, even though my friends laughed at me when I said I was going to buy a Camry! I was originally happy with just lowered springs, new wheels and a lip kit, and even wanted to turbo it. Then I came across the fitment thing, the Agentz crew and eventually Stanceworks. With all that, the direction of modifications changed, I’m now aiming for a ‘VIP inspired’ look,” explains Reece. The VIP inspired styling may not remain the same for long, with a Lexus rumoured to be in the pipeline for the near future.

This pre-facelift model of the Audi A6 has always had more appeal to us than its newer rendition. Owner, Rusmin has opted for a set of Flowspec 5 ADV.1 wheels and they make a lasting impression. Coupled with KW V1 coilovers they’re the perfect combination of both function and form.

S6 side mirrors are about the only exterior modification to the car, though Rusmin tells us that future plans may include a simple OEM look bodykit, Milltek quad exhaust and quite possibly a set of Rotiform BLQ deep concave wheels.

If the A6 doesn’t offer enough of a status symbol, then here’s their elite offering in executive saloon style. Adhika’s Audi A8 features Adjustable Link suspension, which manipulates the stock air suspension and results in less than a one-finger gap at the oil pan at its lowest position. Add to that the MAE wheels (by Oz Germany) and you’ve got yourself a killer combination.

Adhika’s owned his A8 for approximately two years now and tells us that he’ll be focusing on building his Volkswagen Golf in the meantime, whilst turning this A8 into a long term project. “I’ll possibly re-barrel the MAE wheels to 20 x 11 ET 0 all around and attempt to add some facelift bits to the car”, explains Adhika.

Moving forward to their JDM based platforms, this is Yung’s Honda Accord Euro. Taking a simple and clean approach with SSR Vienna LM9s was the right choice. They make a big difference to the look of this popular platform.

“We’ll see an OEM Modulo front bar and side skirts added onto the car in the near future”, explains owner Yung.

Whilst the team may specialise in luxury marques, it certainly doesn’t limit them to having just one style represent them. The teams diversity has expanded over time and we appreciate the mix of import tuners who are now part of Agentz.

Peter’s WRX STI is neat package with a classic black and white colour scheme. The ‘Pignose’ WRX shape is one of our favourites and this STi version is cleanly built.

What better friendly rivalry could exist within the team than WRX vs Evo? Henry’s Evo VIII MR has been transformed with a IX front bar, rear bar and wing. Advan RS GTR wheels, Rexspeed carbon fibre exterior bits, an extensive list of Cusco parts, Gruppe M intake, Fujitsubo catback exhaust and a Tomei dump and front pipe all play a part in assisting the car to easily achieve 250kW at all four.

The more time we spend getting to know the team and members, the more obvious is the unity amongst them. We first ran into co-founders Daniel and Kit, then Raymond well before T-LD existed, yet when we questioned Raymond on what the purpose of Agentz was, and how members join, here’s what he had to say; “To us, Agentz crew is so much more than just another car crew. It’s a family. Our support for each other shows and when people ask ‘Can i join Agentz?’, we explain the process isn’t as simple. We’re not looking to gather as many modified cars in Melbourne as possible. It actually doesn’t even matter what car you drive at the end of the day, as long you’re passionate, you’re in.”

“The perfect example of this is our good friend Kit, who now resides in Thailand after leaving Melbourne not too long ago. He joined us sometime in 2007 and is the humble character we look for. This is a bloke who will go out of his way to help anyone asking a question and doing a favour without even asking for anything in return. He’s the perfect influence to the crew and will remain a part of the Agentz family forever. Even in Thailand he’s still proudly repping Agentz!”

Daniel’s Honda Odyssey represents the true ‘Bippu’ VIP style which they first started out on, but we’ll have to leave you hanging for more until we deliver individual features on the vehicles that make up the team including this headlining Odyssey in the near future. Next year marks the tenth year anniversary for Agentz and the team is assertive that there’s plenty of years to come for them along with new members. In his final wise words, co-founder Raymond expresses, “I seriously think that this is just the beginning for us, in twenty to thirty years we’ll still be flying the Agentz crew flag high and proud”.