A Roberuta air suspension system has been combined with the Cusco adjustable coilovers, after all this is a show car and needs to be lowered all the way to the ground once it's sitting on the show stand. A set of deep-dish Rays Engineering Volk Racing GT-7 wheels were chosen for the job, which, thanks to their enormous 20-inch diameter, manage to fill those enormous, widened arches without a problem. Comfortable yet grippy Bridgestone RE050 rubber was chosen in 245/35/20 for the front while extremely low profile 285/30/20 have been fitted to the rear wheels. Project 6-pot calipers grab the slotted front rotors, while at the back standard Brembo calipers and discs have been left untouched. High-friction Project pads are used all around.
Obayashi Factory assisted the ORC 350Z project for the interior and audio/video system. While the supple Bride leather racing seats and Key's Racing steering wheel will keep the driver happy, there are certainly enough toys to keep the passenger equally entertained. The entire center console has been molded to effortlessly integrate the three factory instruments as well as the large Alpine LCD screen, Alpine head unit and Blitz SBC-iD Color boost controller. Just below the three rotary A/C controls four micro-switches individually control the boot-mounted nitrous tanks. On the passenger side of the dashboard six Blitz gauges keep the driver informed of vital engine temperatures and pressures. The Alpine audio/video units send their signals to a full Alpine surround sound system, which has been custom mounted around the cabin. A large subwoofer in the boot area makes sure the bass is always pumping.
Out on the road the ORC shines in a number of ways. The immediate acceleration and lack of lag are what first surprises; there is no trail off of low-down torque or high-end power, and the boosted V6 seems to pull all the time in any gear. It's almost electric in character. There are all sort of noises being made: supercharger whine, large turbo spool up, an exquisite exhaust note and external wastegate chatter when you lift off the throttle. What gets you next is the amazing grip, especially considering the high torque output. Floor the throttle in any gear and there is very little wheel spin, just a momentary sideways step of the rear end in the first three gears, but nothing dramatic. We couldn't help pull a few (20 inch!!) burnouts, the car is fitted with a line lock system so it would have been rude not to oblige. The ORC guys were more than happy to go along with it.