Godfrey Karegi, better known as The X-Plug, has been a man on a mission ever since he dipped his feet into Kenya’s automotive scene. He’s not an overnight success; he started his business journey peddling auto parts in the dim-lit parts shops along Kirinyaga road more than five years ago before gaining recognition as the King of Toyota Mark X and Toyota Crown. The man is an unsung hero in the community he serves – the Toyota Mark X Owners of Kenya, and recently, he did something that warranted a post on our pages – an engine swap.
I’ll let you in on a little secret. I am a sucker for underdogs. I dislike all these chirping birds hovering all over the Kenyan automotive social media space, selling water while they drink wine. Godfrey Karegi, a.k.a. The X-Plug, is the real deal.
He’s not one of those opportunistic auto dealers who sell you high-end auto parts and drive off in the evening behind the wheel of a Toyota 110 (no offense to owners of this affordable automobile).
The X-Plug gets so much acclaim because he’s also the owner of a mint-looking Toyota Mark X. As such, he gets the needs and worries of other owners with similar vehicles or engines. You’ll never find him thumping his chest all over. His reputation is earned. He’s trusted and praised by his clientele.
Recently, he decided to embark on every car lover’s most precious journey – performing an engine swap on his daily driver, Mark X. On his Instagram page, he passionately shared his journey with the car that led to the swap, confessing that he wasn’t obligated to do the swap (nothing was wrong with his initial setup). Still, he felt it was time he moved on to the next level of enjoying the full potential of his car.
His Mark X now has a 3-liter V6 engine, and the story he shared online was nothing short of spectacular. He tagged along with his followers on the process of his build, taking them every step of the way. The swap took a full day to complete, but he still needed to tune the car to get to its full potential.
Most Toyota Mark Xs come with a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter V6. The GRX-122 (4GR-FSE or 5GR-FE) features a 2.5-liter V6 capable of churning 215 ponies. The GRX-121, on the other hand, packs a 3-liter V6 (3GR-FSE) good for between 256 hp and 316 hp (supercharged variant).
We love the Mark-X Owners team in Kenya because of the competition and chaos they bring to the performance car scene there. Best of all, it’s always healthy competition, with each other keeping each other in check while they rise together to the wildest levels across the continent.
Ian Musili took exterior styling on the Mark Xs to a global scale – we’ve never seen a car shift form that fast in such a short while, and now, the X-Plug is turning up the ante on performance. It’s only a matter of time before the Icunix pulls up with a Supercharged unit. I am certain of this!
You can catch some of that action and more on the X-Plug’s page below.
