At first Radni had no idea what to expect, after seeing a few pictures he thought it was a just a tuned S15, but after seeing several youtube SuperGT videos and more photos off the actual car he realized this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The seller at the time was in a bit of financial turmoil so Radni had to act fast and close the deal.
For most of us it is pretty rare to see an actual GT300 car in the flesh and it is even rarer seeing one outside of Japan. But what if you got the opportunity to buy one? Sometimes it helps when you have contacts in Japan that think of you when they have something special. This happened to Radni Molhampour, the owner of the car, when he got a text message from Rick that runs draganddrift.com.
After Radni had put down a deposit it took several weeks before he got a confirmation he was now the owner of the original Unisia Jecs GT300 S15 Silvia. Because this was a official race car and Nismo helped build it they ordered that the stickers had to be removed. Another important thing that wasn't included in the deal was the engine.
The original engine stayed with Nismo for further development. It was an SR engine that had a dry sump system and magnesium oil pan amongst other one off items. Nismo couldn't risk that the engine could possibly fell in competitors hands.
As you can see Radni got his hands on another SR20 that has been completely rebuild. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my hand on the complete spec list of this engine. I do know that it features a custom dry sump system and that the Calsonic radiator and intercooler remained from the original SR setup.
Another item that Radni got his hands on was the Hewland IGTC sequential gearbox that weighs an impressive 27kg thanks to its magnesium housing.
When you lift the carbon trunk you'll notice that the 80L fuel tank is in front of the rear wheels for a better weight distribution. The trunk itself has been completely gutted and reinforced with carbon parts. The dry sump tank and brake fluid reservoir still managed to find a place in there.
The interior hasn't changed much except for the seat and the addition of the AIM dash logger system. The black square in the rear window is actually an air duct that directs its air through a carbon box that ends in the trunk. The extensive rollcage has been carefully contstructed by the engineers at Nismo.
A closer look at the dash logger that shows Radni all the vital statistics of the engine. The knobs on the right of the logger are the AP brake bias adjusters.
The wide body kit has been produced by Nismo and is obviously not for sale on the market. From this angle you can also see how much wider this car is than the original S15
I was surprised to see that the front are exactly the same as the rear wheels. They come in 18" and are made from magnesium and can be changed via the center lock. The wheels are wrapped in 280 width rubber.
The car has a very trick suspension system made by Nismo that features Bilstein shocks that are mounted horizontally. From this angle you can also see several radiators that include one for the LSD, one for the transmission and also one for the brake fluid.
I would love to see this car in the flesh some day, so I'm already looking at options to travel to Norway this year to witness one of the many Gatebil events. I sure hope this beast will also be present at one of those events.
-Jeroen Willemsen
Thanks to Egil Arne Håsjold for sending me some of his photo's
Source: speedhunters.com
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