SEMA is always filled with interesting builds, but one of the most controversial and talked about was the R35Hundred specZERO Nissan GTR. The wild body kit, VK45 Daytona Prototype engine, the fact that it is rear wheel drive only, or that they will only build ten per year, are all interesting, but the $325,000 price tag is what really made me stop and do a doubletake.
In a world of Singer Porsche, Gunther Werks, and Revology Mustangs, the expectation of a bespoke six-figure car is pretty high. Not only does it have to perform better than the original, but the build quality should also be worthy of the lawn at Villa d’Este.
Photo via Motive DVD |
According to the R35Hundred website:
“R35Hundred is a passion project by a team of designers who love what the GTR represents. Initially started as a one-off show car, we realized that there are others out there who share in our love for this vehicle as well. As a result we turned this into a bespoke brand to represent the freedom and empowerment that the automobiles allow us. The vehicle represents our homage to the many years of design and motorsport that Nissan is famous for.”
Several threads started popping up on forums and Facebook talking about the car, some supportive, others asking the same questions I was, mainly what are you suppose to do with the car? The car is sold with a racing suit and helmet, has a full race engine, but it doesn’t seem to have a racing spec roll cage. Is it for track days? Is it even street legal? It also isn’t clear if you need to provide the GTR donor car, or if it is included in the (starting at) $325,000 for the specZERO model, if not you need to budget another $100,000+ for a new GTR.
Photo via Motive DVD |
So what do you get for over three hundred thousand dollars? Well I really can’t tell based on their website, there are no performance figures, they don’t even publish horsepower for their twin turbo race motor, the naturally aspirated Grand AM GT VK45 were around rated at 450hp, a stock 2018 GTR Track Edition is 565hp AWD and around $128,500, but we are in a weird place in the car world where people are buying up almost anything that is a “limited edition” so maybe R35Hundred will find an audience.
According to the site, you get the following on the specZERO: