We all know how Tsukuba circuit lap times serve as performance benchmarks in Japan. The little Ibaraki-ken racetrack is the place to go if you want to prove how fast your car is, as it challenges every area of a vehicle's performance. So it's no surprise that some tuners dedicate their whole year either creating new demo cars or preparing their existing racers to be ready to give it 100 percent at the Rev Speed Magazine organized Tsukuba Lap Battle. Last year seven out of the 10 fastest cars were Skyline GT-Rs. One of which is the beast you see immortalized on these pages: the widebody Nagisa Auto Motor Sports BNR34 Skyline GT-R. This track monster lapped the tight course in 56.51 seconds. Once we heard from Sugihara-san, the president of the company, that the car will be retired we just had to spend time with it and pay tribute with an inside look at how it was created.
Situated in central Osaka, NAMS has over the years established itself as one of the greatest tuners in Japan. While they like to get their hands on any car, they have a deep-seeded love for the mighty Skyline GT-R. When they began working on their time attack project they knew they had to treat it like a true race car, as that was the only way they could break into the competitive lap times. The base car was stripped to its bare metal chassis, which was then cleaned up and removed of all sound-deadening material. A very heavy dose of spot and seam welding was done to strengthen the shell, while an 18-point rollcage was fabricated and welded in. Additional strengthening plates were added in strategic places, while the transmission tunnel was modified to accept the Hollinger sequential gearbox. To create a very professional look the whole chassis was sprayed in metallic silver, including the interior, trunk and engine bay.
Then it was on to the bodywork, which like the rest of the car needed to be special. In order to get the most cornering performance the front and rear tracks needed to be wider so NAMS called in the help of M-Speed. They built some one off front wider fenders and a set of rear overfenders. The front end was dressed up with a C-West bumper and for added aerodynamic downforce some carbon side canards were thrown in. M-Speed also provided the carbon hood and trunk lid to help shave off even more weight. A D-Speed carbon GT wing takes care of the rear downforce while the final touch was the Craft Square carbon side mirrors. The completed car looks outstanding, finished off in a light metallic silver and featuring extensive graphics. One look at this car and you know it means business.
With lots of experience building high-powered RB26 engines, NAMS knew exactly what the track car needed. While a lot of other tuners prefer to use far more responsive twin turbo setups, Sugihara-san knew that nothing would touch the explosive acceleration of a large single blower. Thus the turbine choice was made and an order put in to Trust for one of their T88-33D turbo kits. In order to fill that rather pronounced low-rpm lag, a setup like this would need a capacity increase. Subsequently the prepped N1 engine block was fitted with a Step 3 HKS 2.8 L kit, made of a fully balanced crankshaft, H-type connecting rods and a set of forged pistons. A lot of time went into the preparation of the head with many secret components used as well as a Step 2 HKS camshaft kit and a hefty dose of polishing. The engine was sealed up with an HKS metal head gasket and on went the Trust exhaust manifold, which has the job of holding up the huge turbine as well as the external wastegate.
Since NAMS prefers to map engines using MAF sensors they fitted two high-capacity items to the twin intake of the T88, which sucks air through a set of Airinx air filters. A large-core Trust intercooler and piping sends the compressed charge to a GReddy intake plenum, a trusted and widely used product on high-power RB26s. Providing the engine with all the fuel it needs is a set of 1,000cc/min injectors, which are fed by two large Bosch Motorsport fuel pumps. A 30L ATL racing fuel cell replaces the factory unit and is just about enough to give the car three flat-out laps at Tsukuba. Keeping the engine cool is an ARC front-mounted oil cooler and a special racing NAMS radiator with air separator system.
NAMS sure didn't skip out on good parts when it came to the transmission. The factory Getrag six-speed box was taken off the car and replaced with a Hollinger sequential, which has carefully chosen ratios especially for Tsukuba. An Exedy twin-plate carbon clutch has the job of juggling all that power, not an easy job when we're talking about 750 hp and 75 kgm of torque!
Joining the fully adjustable Quantum suspension kit is a complete set of NAMS suspension links. These offer full adjustability and being fitted with pillow-balls all round, offer unparalleled feel and precision. All bushings have been replaced with either solid metal or harder polyutherane items. Keeping braking performance in check is a set of AP Racing 6-pot front calipers, which bite down on two-piece slotted rotors. The stock Brembo 2-pot calipers have been kept at the rear but have been joined by a larger two-piece rotor to keep rear braking performance balanced. Lightweight SSR Type C wheels were chosen for this project and their looks complete the exterior of the car very nicely. These are wrapped in Dunlop Direzza DL3G semi-slick tires, which come in a choice of different compounds.
The interior of the NAMS GT-R is total race car. Everything that doesn't make the car faster or better to drive has been relegated to the trash. The driver sits in a lightweight carbon Bride bucket seat and grips the Nardi steering wheel. At easy reach for his left hand is the Hollinger's gear lever, which needs some pretty aggressive force to get those cogs to swap. A Logger Meter LCD dash unit offers all the information needed, while the HKS boost gauge lets you know when the turbo begins to spool up - not that you'd need a gauge for this as the wastegate scream would let you and everybody in a five-mile radius know. All various switchgear was moved to the center console where we also find the HKS EVC boost controller.
It's disappointing that we'll no longer see this car at the Tsukuba Lap Battles. Sugihara-san decided it's the right time to retire it and focus on the new GT-R, which he'll receive at the end of the year. So what will become of this 56-second monster? Get out your checkbooks, The car is now up for sale and Sugihara is accepting offers.
Nagisa Auto Motor Sports Bnr34 Skyline GT-R
Power Output: 750PS
Max torque: 75 KGM
Engine
HKS 2.8L kit (counterbalanced crank,H-conrods, pistons)
HKS Step 2 camshafts
HKS metal head gasket
Trust T88-33D turbine kit
Trust exhaust manifold
Trust racing external wastegate
GReddy intake plenum
Trust large-core intercooler
ARC oil cooler
NAMS oil catch tank
Trust Airinx air filters x2
Carbon radiator shroud with air scoop
NAMS racing big-core radiator withair separator tank
1,000cc/min injectors
NAMS AFM x2
Bosch Motorsport fuel pump x 2
ATL racing fuel cell
Power FC programmable ECU
Drivetrain
Exedy twin-plate carbon clutch
Hollinger sequential gearbox
Suspension
NAMS full pillow-ball suspensionarm set (adjustable)
Quantum racing suspension kit with 17kg/mmfront
springs, 16kg/mm rear springs
Auto Select billet front strut tower bar
Brakes
AP racing 6-pot front calipers andtwo-piece slotted rotor
Stock rear calipers with larger diametertwo-piece slotted rotor
Exterior
C-West front bumper
Carbon front canards
M-Speed front wider fenders
M-Speed FRP doors
M-Speed side steps
M-Speed rear overfenders
Daishin rear carbon GT wing
M-Speed carbon hood
M-Speed carbon trunk lid
Craft Square carbon rearview mirrors
NAMS LED rear lights
Interior
Custom 18-point welded-in rollcage
Fully spot and seam-welded chassis
Bride carbon racing seat
Sabelt racing harness
Nardi racing steering wheel
Custom lever for Hollinger sequential
Logger Meter LCD dash unit
HKS boost meter
Custom center console
GReddy exhaust temperature gauge
HKS EVC boost controller
A'PEXi Power FC Commander
Wheels/Tires
SSR Type C 10.5x18 +15
Dunlop Direzza DL3G 265/35/18