SSVI GT-R Exclusive | 2. A Small World

[Tekknikal]

The 1992 Dream Team. Jordan, Johnson, Bird, Barkley, Robinson, Ewing, Pippen, Stockton. There was never anything like it before. Now there is another kind of dream team. Lotus, Cosworth, Borg Warner, Brembo, Bilstein, Rays, Bridgeston, Sony/Polyphoy, Nissan. Their game? The Nissan GT-R.

Like their NBA counterparts, each player on the GT-R dream team brought their best game. Each developed new, cutting edge technologies and techniques to solve a problem no one had been able to solve before: how do you make a supercar, without supercar limitations and without a supercar price? Each company worked with the others to produce the superior product we recognize and respect today.








Bridgestone, for example, tried over 3,000 tire compounds with a number of wheels from Rays to come up with the ideal wheel and tire combination. In the process, they developed four sets: maximum performance, endurance performance, all season, and snow tires. They also discovered the need to optimize spoke design to keep the wheels from twisting under torque, and the need to rib the inside of the wheel so the tires didn't spin on them. Cosworth levered its extensive race experience, which includes Formula1 design, to help Nissan construct a new powerplant for Godzilla- a 3.8L all aluminum V6 that could not only create the required power, but do so reliably and efficiently. Accomplishing their goal required the application of a complex process of plasma spraying the cylinder walls to maximize the efficiency of the engine. Borg Warner was tasked with the monumental job of created the GT-R's transmission. The project resulted in the world's first rear mounted all wheel drive dual clutch transmission - second in power rating only to that found in the Veyron - which they also built. Sony worked hand in hand with Nissan to develop a display system that was easy to use at 200mph. In the night. Then there's the chassis, which Lotus is rumored to have secretly been developing for years in the UK. Finally you have the braking system. The head designer of the GT-R, Kazutoshi Mizuno, claims it's not matched by any other in the world. But consider the source. The last time he made such a claim- regarding the performance of the car itself- the GT-R turned in a lap time no one thought possible. Then, a few months later, they sliced an unbelievable extra eight seconds off. On the most challenging track in the world. Judging by his nature, Mizuno's word should not be taken lightly.

While I was in Atlanta, I spent a number of afternoons exploring the rural suburbs outside of the city, adding miles on the car and learning the nav system and other computer functions. In general, I was enjoying my time with the machine, slowly becoming more and more confident in what Nissan had built. With each additional mile, I was becoming more and more confident. The car just wasn't missing a beat.

During my forays into the countrysides I would meet many enthusiasts. In one particular trip, M3Mike and I came out of a mall to find a mini-meet gathering around the car- even though I was in the most remote parking space. From a distance I saw that the car that parked next to mine wasn't an ordinary car at all, but was actually an imported R33 Skyline GT. Walking up to the scene, I approached the fellas standing between the two Nissans. They were in their mid 20s, and looked impressed by what they had before them. There seemed to be a great degree of disbelief and concern as well. It was as if they were afraid one of the cars would suddenly vanish. Pointing to the white Skyline, I asked who's car it was. One of the fellas said it was his, but he had no idea who owned the black one. I said it was mine. He started to grin...

One day M3Mike, Freddie_VI and myself went to the local BMW dealership. M3Mike needed a part for his M3. As always, we took the GT-R out to get some extra miles on it. On the way there we had a good run with a boosted 240SX who had recognized the unusual looking Nissan. It was good fun that ended all too soon. After an exchange of thumbs up we parted ways. Instead of playing with the 240 however, I should have been mentally preparing myself for the visit to the BMW dealership. But that's something I could only have known in hindsight...

I wasn't prepared for what happened when we arrived. Rolling around the service side through a narrow corridor, passing a few Z4s, 3 series, even a couple M6s, a couple people peaked their heads out. I thought little of it. Parking just in front of the service garage, everything changed though. The entire service bay got cleared out. People started to pour out of the glass doors to the service department building. I didn't even know there were that many people there. The GT-R was receiving the biggest welcome it had ever gotten. Everyone wanted to see it in person. Remember, these are people that work on M3s and M6s every day! A woman asked if I minded if she took pics to tease her son. "Sure" She pulled out her phone and started snapping away. She laughed about her plan, commenting that she'd send her son the pics and say that this was the new car she bought for him. The man next to her commented about how mean that was, to which she replied, "Well it could have been a Lambo". Without missing a beat, he corrected her- "this car would smoke it. " I wasn't sure smoke was the appropriate word, but I suppose the legend precedes it. I smiled and shrugged.

Minutes later we were inside and already done with the parts department. I thought that while we were there it would be a good time for M3Mike to check out the new M3. As a current M3 owner I figured they'd really want to keep his business- especially in this market with everyone fearing a recession and all. So off we went to the sales side. It was a few minutes walk but before I knew it we were standing in a garage in front of about a dozen M3s. I'm not sure if it's being in the states or what, but something always leads me to forget what the real world is really like:

"If you know anything about M3s" the salesman started "you'd know they don't grow on trees. We've had a two year waiting list" He said, in front of at least a dozen M3 Coupes. All for sale. I had mentioned that I wanted M3Mike to get acquainted with the new model, that he was in the market, and so on. The salesman however, didn't seem to care. "M drivers know who they are" he started to explain. Umm...OK. He went on to mention the new, "hot" dual clutch M3s as an example. With an open car, much less a test drive off the table, we asked about what configurations they offer, if they had any of those dual clutch M3s, what the pricing was like, and so on. "M drivers know what they want as well" was his answer. I was shocked. This man didn't even want to talk about what they had, or what his prices were like?! And he's the one that's supposed to sell them. I had picked up on his attitude. In one look he had decided that we could never be in the market for such a car. That we were not the type of people he wanted to sell a car to. It's a classic case of making false assumptions. But I was angry... I was waiting for him to say one word about the M3s competition. Or make one false comment- anywhere. Just one mis-step was all I needed. It would have been a conversation I would have likely regretted. For better or worse though, Freddie_VI picked up on this, making a move for the exit. It left enough of a gap in time for me to reassess the situation. Then I understood M3Mike's pessimism about even being there. He never wanted to be there, but I was the one who said it wouldn't be a problem for him to see it. I was wrong though, and at my insistence we'd been insulted as a result. With a cold taste in my mouth, I smiled and thanked the salesman for his time. We followed Freddie_VI out.

Thinking it over on my way out, they knew little about us, so they could not have known that we really were the types to be able to buy an M3. But, on the flip side does that matter? As a salesman, what's the downside to sharing information about your product with someone else? Even if- hypothetically- you knew they weren't in the market? This man and his group apparently felt that, for whatever reason, we weren't their type. I left them so they could go back to standing with each other and chatting about whatever it is BMW salesmen chat with each other about.

Walking across the street, still frustrated, I returned to find the service bay still watching the GT-R. I thought, maybe these people should be the salesmen and the salesmen should be the service people ? That way you'd definitely be safe leaving your M3 with them for service. No one would go near it. And the sales group would probably be better too, being better acquainted with their competition and what car enthusiasts are really like.

I got in the car. Still frustrated. Red start button. The car cranked back to life, all its systems coming online in their usual show. I hadn't said a word to Freddie_VI. He was smiling. I put the car in Reverse. In minutes we were gone. I never took any pictures.

_______________________________

Although I had my moments there, I'm going to miss Atlanta. The cost of living is low. The environment is comfortable. It's not at all like the northeast or even Florida. For single men, particularly if you're a minority, I'm not sure why you'd go anywhere else. The female to male ratio there appeared to be about at least 2 to 1. And amazingly, there was a lot of talent. Educated talent at that: Doctors, Lawyers, you name it.

A nearby Applebees seemed to be the spot for chillin, and it was there that I came to these realizations. Over some drinks it was mentioned that the owner of a local car wash may have taken possession of a silver GT-R. The next day we took a short trip there to find out if it was true.

It was.

Flexing its muscles inside its cave - er I mean garage, I could see a Super Silver GT-R.

I jumped out of my car to several smiling faces. Immediately, without even saying a word, I knew that the man I was approaching had driven the car. Something about his facial expression told me that he was in on the secret. What exactly he knew, I wasn't consciously aware of, but I was very aware that he understood. It's a strange link.

After a bit of chatting I learned that the owner of the shop, the individual who bought the GT-R, was not present. The gentleman with the British accent that I was speaking with had been taking care of the car in his absence though. We exchanged stories and comments on the car, but both of us had the same feelings. We were both massively impressed. Naturally, after a bit of small talk, some pics were in order.

In person, the supersilver color is stunning. It's a color that has multiple layers, each getting hand buffed through the process. Being detailers by profession, these guys knew a good paint job when they saw it. They commented that they were impressed with the paint and its thickness. They noted that it was exactly what Nissan advertised.

In the right light, the color is better described as liquid metal.

The sight of the two of these machines was impressive, to say the least. Quite a few people stopped by to witness the event. Personally, I felt queasy at the sight. It was like putting an immovable object in front of an unstoppable force...

Special thanks must be given to the fellas over at the Car Nutz Auto Spa for taking so much time out of their day to chat. I think I also speak on behalf of the many enthusiasts who stopped by at the sight of the two GT-Rs sitting together. It was such a spectacle that I would later learn of the posts on other internet forums about the pair...

3M Blue Painters tape is designed to be used to adhere to painted surfaces without damaging the paint underneath. It's designed to stick, while eliminating - or minimizing resedue. A couple nights later, after washing the car, I decided to try some that I happened to have. It seemed to work well.

With Rock city playing on the GT-R's sound system, it was time to represent St Croix and ERD in downtown Atlanta. While we were at it, we thought it would also be fun to cover up the name of the car. That way, when people asked if it was the new Skyline, we could say no- we were testing the new 200SX...

Sadly, most of the people we ran into that night didn't buy our story. In fact, no one did. Except one person...who was drunk. He got angry- insisting that we tell him what the car really was. By the time we told him it was the new GT-R, he said "That ain' no freakin Skyline". Oh well.

That night we learned that the GT-R really does fit three people, and in a pinch could probably fit four. That's two more than any car that performs near it. Having said that, the rear seat passengers are best without legs...and heads... but even if they had those features, they would still fit... for short distances.

When the M3Mike, Freddie_VI, and I arrived at the scene, people loved to ask what the tape was for. Then they'd ask whose car it was. I pointed to M3Mike. M3Mike pointed to Freddie_VI. Freddie_VI pointed to me. We shrugged. They laughed.

Then I saw some S2000s.

Being an owner myself I had to find out whose cars they were, and what they'd done with them. I learned that there were a few S2000s there. Some AP1 others AP2 (second series for the uninitiated). One had an HKS exhaust. Another had intake, headers, exhaust. Yet another was owned by a young fella who was slowly rebuilding an S2k engine in his garage(!) He already had suspension work. Big Ups. They joked about why a GT-R owner would care about their cars. I guess there are different types of car enthusiasts in the world. To me, someone who wouldn't be interested in anything other than his/her car, is anything but a car enthusiast.

While we were there we learned that the website ImportAtlanta had a major meet planned for that Saturday night. The S2000 guys said they planned on going, and that they'd be honored if I'd join them. Unfortunately, I'd already committed to go with a Nissan crew......

And sadly, the Nissan crew didn't end up going. So, the next day, after another wash and leaving nothing but NAGTROC on the back of the car, we rolled out.

Just when you think the world is massive, you learn really very tiny.

ImportAtlanta is a website much like StreetSeen, except without the centralized news and site-backed event coverage. Basically, it's a huge forum. Since there's thousands of enthusiasts per square mile in Atlanta, the site is huge and the coverage and discussion is extensive. That night importAtlanta reserved the Atlanta raceway for a night of racing. After learning of the fate of the Nissan crew that we were supposed to roll with, we made our way out there alone.

The drive was a little over an hour, an easy sail in the GT-R. It was easy to tell when we were close- we just had to follow the modified imports to the venue. Err not really. Surprised to see a R35 in full cruise, they started following us. So, eventually we all ended up in a Home Depot parking lot looking at each other. In reality though, we were the only ones that were lost. Oddly enough, I had trouble finding the track with the GT-R's nav system. You'd think racetracks would be on the main menu. They aren't. Maybe they are on the Japanese spec models, where there's a 112mph speed limiter that can only be disabled at a race track. But I guess when they decided to delimit USDM cars, they figured they didn't need a race track icon in the main menu either. I tried entering in the name of the track into the nav system, but I couldn't remember what exactly it was. Thankfully, Google mobile pulled through and the address came up. Once inputted, the car recognized where we needed to go....and where it was going...

We drove into the area, following what must have been a full mile straight paralleling the track grounds. The sheer size of the place caught me off guard. For some reason, I didn't think drag raceways were that big. Cars were everywhere. I was concerned about parking. The woman at the gate wasn't. "We're less than half full tonight" she said...

She was right. But, looking for a good place to park, there seemed to be people walking all over, no matter where we went. M3Mike made the observation first, "wherever you go, they'll go. They're following you." Oh. OK. I parked. Sure enough, the crowd massed. I wasn't accustomed to being in that situation. I stepped out of the car and stepped back. People swarmed the car. I just watched...

Eventually the crowd dissipated and we started to walk around. It was like seeing a big city for the first time. There was so much activity. It seemed to be the opposite of the St Croix race track. Cars lined up, three or four wide, twenty plus deep. Races were ongoing. It seemed that there were always two cars on the track, if not four: Two at the end of the track and two at the beginning. Return lanes always in use. Wow. Times and trap speeds were constantly being displayed on the score boards at the end of the quarter mile. What a contrast against St Croix, where we race two cars every 5 minutes and have to wait on them to return...and never see any times. I started to think to myself that the attitudes must be completely different as well also. Just then, I got a call from Freddie_VI that he and M3Mike were on the opposite end of the track, checking out the staging area and that there was something I should check out. I asked if it was safe to move the car over there. They said it was. Off to the car I went.

I got in and went to start it when someone knocked on the glass. I rolled down the window to listen to a challenge from some guy who was representing his friend...who had a bike. No thanks. Still in break-in, I smiled. It wasn't returned. Then I got it. It was as if he was questioning my car or me. Or my manhood. I had to chuckle at that. Here I was thinking that everyone respected each other and that things were different. St Croix or not, some things will always be the same.

On the other end of the track, I parked and started walking the staging lanes. I immediately saw something that, for some reason, stuck in my head. A green Mazda. I felt like I'd seen it a thousand times. Where had I seen it before? I couldn't remember...

I continued to walk, taking pics. Then Freddie_VI called. "Yo - there's a car here with a VI flag..."

...MazdaKLZE. That's where I saw that car. It's in his avatar. On StreetSeen. He was here..? An active StreetSeen poster...right here? What are the odds? I guess odds are just that, odds. Eventually, no matter what the odds are, it will happen.

My purchase was supposed to have been a secret. St Croix's a small place when it comes to rumors and no one was supposed to know yet. Looking up, I was directly across from him. Another incoming call. ..."There are more people from St Croix here..." Are they on StreetSeen also? I asked. "Yes." Did they recognize you? "Standing with them..."

MazdaKZLE either hadn't seen me or didn't recognize me. I pushed my luck with a couple shots and walked away. Passing by my car, I saw two more people walking across, speaking with Cruzan accents...

We put together a story on the fly. The car belonged to Freddie_VI. They started to buy that. But while I was talking I realized that was a mistake. It couldn't fly. They might post that on StreetSeen, and if they did, everyone on StreetSeen would instantly know the truth. Then all of St Croix would know. Either way, the secret needed to be maintained. In that moment I realized we were lucky to have taken STX off the car already. In any case, since they didn't know me that well- or at least, didn't know who I was, we admitted to the car being mine. They bought that. Changing their mind was easy when I took the GT-R key out of my pocket. Then we said I was from Tennessee....

What a small world.

After we left the track, we went and got some gas. While I was inside I saw the Green Mazda pull up behind me. Freddie_VI was over by the pump doing the talking. Apparently, he asked if the man from StreetSeen with the G35 wasn't supposed to get a GT-R...

...kindly, he suggested that Freddie_VI let the padna with the G know what the GT-R is like...

Minutes later we were on I85 on our way back to Atlanta.... with what had to have been a turbocharged Lexus IS chasing us on the highway. At highway speeds it pulled hard. Very hard. A cool sight. Yet another StreetSeen regular I was told. We tried to lay low. He drove off. It was a good thing too- Several miles up the road I was being chased by a shadow that seemed keenly interested in prompting me to do something. Oddly, the car's behavior wasn't like that of most others that were interested in me. I'd been flash photographed, camera photographed...everything, but this felt out of the norm. Should I 6-3 downshift and leave him? No. Maybe they're just curious. After a moment the car pulled out to pass. State police.

We called ahead to some of the VI guys several miles up and let them know what was going on. They were doing the same for us. You've got to look out for each other. As it turned out, someone on importAtlanta had made the call. On their own members...

Not moments later did the IS return. They were doing something off to the side but I couldn't make it out....Then I saw it... A video camera...

We laid back in the GT-R. There was nothing we could do. After a bit, they disappeared. I called ahead to Duttyman - who helps administrate StreetSeen. I didn't want to censor anyone's posts, but the secret needed to be kept. "No problem" he said. For days we would keep a very close eye on the site. Twenty four hours a day. Luckily, nothing was posted.

We got back after 1am. It was my last night in Atlanta. The next morning I was driving down to Orlando. With the blue tape having gone well, we washed the front end of the car and decided to apply blue tape over the entire front. This would protect it during the drive.

Freddie_VI's attention to detail is second to none, and I can only take credit for the poorest 1/3 of the car, with him having done the rest. By about 3AM the GT-R was taped up. All it needed was a full tank of gas and it would be ready. In just a few hours I'd wake up to drive down to Orlando.

The wifey was leaving St Croix for Orlando in the morning as well. Her ETA? Minutes after 3PM. Google Maps told me the drive would take 7 hours. The navigation system on the GT-R, which I'd named Aimee (after Jeremy's Top Gear review) said it might take 8 hours. I needed sleep. It must have been after 4AM. If I left at 8AM, I would get a few hours of sleep, but it would still be close. Weather forecasts said it was likely to be ugly. The remnants of Hurricane Hannah were in the area. It smelled like a race was brewing.

[twincityfinest]

yo tekk you know how to tell a story real good lol. Yo dat ish is just amazin how much stuff u went thru to keep the gtr on the low low. I think everybody kinda knew (or atleast I thought) u was goin to get da gtr but when u purchase the s2000, it throw us off. Once again, gr8 story and i hope theres a part 3!!!

[StreetRX7]

lol very good!!!! yup there is a part 3.... As the drama unfolds....

[freddie_vi]

The blue tape was fun and surprisingly easy to put on...you know at first I was apprehensive when teck told me about doing the tape thing but when it was all said and done it worked out great for him...it was a fun night at the track and i was glad to see the boy's from VI reprisenting in the ATL and let me say this that IS 300 WWWOOOHHH that thing look nice and moves even nicer...!

[DomesticChiney]

Really good read!

[Tekknikal]

Originally Posted by twincityfinest

yo tekk you know how to tell a story real good lol. Yo dat ish is just amazin how much stuff u went thru to keep the gtr on the low low. I think everybody kinda knew (or atleast I thought) u was goin to get da gtr but when u purchase the s2000, it throw us off. Once again, gr8 story and i hope theres a part 3!!!

thanks- the s2k was as much of a surprise to me as it was to everyone else

stay tuned for part 3....

[MazdaKLZE]

my boy,u know how to tell ah story!I didn't buy that story freddie told me .but i figured ,you all trying to keep it on the low.:

[StreetRX7]

Originally Posted by MazdaKLZE

my boy,u know how to tell ah story!I didn't buy that story freddie told me .but i figured ,you all trying to keep it on the low.:

Tekk should know how nosey cruzan be .. why he trying to run that story across man.. lol.. ...lol..

[Tekknikal]

thanks