Michael Satterfield
Liberty Walk is known for wide body kits that can be found on everything from rare Italian Exotics to American Muscle Cars. But LB Performance’s Kato-san built this G-nose for himself and set the standard for old school race inspired S30s. Since it’s unveiling at the 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon it has been aped by many (There are three similar builds here at SEMA) but it is the details that make this Datsun stand out from the rest.
The car was designed with meaning and purpose it is not simply a showcase for LB Performance, it is a rolling tribute to Nissan racing heritage. The body kit is inspired by Haruhito Yanagida’s works 240Z that won the Fuji Grand Championship. The livery recalls the PMC Hakosuka GT-R race car of Kunimitsu Takahashi and the characters on the rear quarter panels read “Prince Nagoya,” a call back to those early PMC Skyline racers. The number 52, might be a reference to Matsuo Nakayama‘s No. 52 Mecca Sunny 1200 Coupe. All of these cars and drivers were part of the early days of Nissan motorsports and that heritage is reflected in this car.
It is also exciting to see the impact this car has had on Japanese classic car communities around the world. While purists will decry that the LB S30 and the Fugu Z are ruining classic cars, even they have to admit that this kind of car has sparked new interest in classics from the Land of the Rising Sun, and getting more young people involved in classic motoring is never a bad thing.
Enjoy more photos of the car below.
