On our trip to the UK earlier this year, I came face to face with a big pink monster. Get any ideas of fuzzy dinosaurs out of your head - I'm talking about a pink R33 Skyline drag monster from Sumo Power, in the UK. This car is very well known in the UK - it's gotten features inked from all the big magazines out there; this R33 has been stirring up quite a bit of attention from its performance numbers and overall impact!

The vehicle is a 1994 Nissan Skyline GTR, which was imported from Japan by Andy Barnes, owner of the car (and one of the organizers of the European Drift Championship). It's powered by Nissan's invincible RB26 straight six; actually, it's a special HKS 2.8 liter hi-deck race engine... maybe we should call it an RB28? Clearly Andy Barnes built this vehicle to beat anything it may come across. This thing has ridiculous amounts of power! (Does someone have compensation issues?) The current power level is 950bhp at 2.2 bar of boost!

However, I hear Andy just ordered a new HKS turbo that will make even more horsepower! Sheesh!

We brought this Skyline to Santa Pod, the famous UK dragstrip, so Andy could strap himself into the Skyline and show us what his R33 could do! All alone at Santa Pod, the R33 looked kind of lonely, in a menacing and slightly evil way. As I walked across the dragstrip surface to get this photo, the VHT on the ground grabbed onto my Nikes as I walked, tearing them off my feet completely... several times!

Since we're looking right at them in the photo above, let's have a look at the wheel and tire specs: Work Meister S1 15x8J custom made wheels, Toyo DRR1 Drag Slick tires 26X10.5X15x4,Rays aluminum wheel nuts.

Now that's a burnout! I never imagined I'd see such displays of power coming from a pink car, but Andy and the Sumo Power crew definitely did a great job building the vehicle! Before we get into the engine specs, let's talk about some of the aero work first - one of the title sponsors of the car is obviously Do-Luck, the Japanese aero kit manufacturer.

Here's what went into the making of this car, all from: Do-Luck: R33 Skyline front bumper, rear bumper, side skirts, carbon bonnet (hood) race version, rear bootlid (trunk), rear wing & stays.

It also has some additional parts from other companies to complete the look -Tomei headlamp airvent,Brett Castle carbon race doors, Aerocatch bonnet pins,Nismo front and side indicators, Hauser intercooler duct, Tomei Lexan windows throughout, Petrol flap removed, External battery port, Deist parachute, and last but not least, Sumo Power's own custom pink paint & decals. They just love pink cars over there!

Now let's have a look at the engine. No, that's not a big dump truck shovel in the front; it's an air duct that makes sure the hot air from the R33's radiator escapes rapidly out the drop vented hood. The signature purple anodized HKS air funnel on the turbo actually complements the pink paint pretty well. I was pretty impressed looking at the engine bay of this R33! Apparently our friends at Sumo Power know what they're talking about! This car is very well done!

Engine Specs:

HKS Hi-Deck Racing Block, HKS forged pistons, HKS billet conrods, HKS billet crankshaft, HKS drag Camshafts (undisc), HKS drag headgasket (undisc), HKS valve/head system, HKS main and rod bearings, HKS head bolts, HKS machined cylinder head, HKS oil pump, HKS 1000cc fuel injectors, HKS billet fuel rail, HKS plenum gasket, HKS exhaust gaskets, HKS T51R SPL BB single turbo, HKS exhaust manifold, HKS racing wastegate, HKS racing blow off valve, HKS intercooler piping kit, HKS GT type intercooler, HKS cam pulleys, HKS Kevlar timing belt ( Hi-Deck version), HKS twin power ignition amplifier, HKS billet oil cap, HKS racing turbo suction, funnel, Do-Luck ignition system, Hyper Direct Coils, JUN intake gaskets, JUN inlet plenum, Naprec 100mm throttle body, Nismo waterpump, Nismo water thermostat, Pitwork oil filter, Trust large capacity oil pan, Sard fuel pressure regulator, Earls fuel lines & fittings, ATI crank damper and pulleys, Modified camshaft covers, Hauser racing radiator & pipework, Hauser racing swirl tank and header pots, Hauser breather catch tank & filter, Hauser side exit exhaust system, Pacet electric water fans (2x), Aeromotive 2000bhp fuel pump & filters, Racing fuel cell, Castrol EDGE 10-40 engine oil, Castrol engine coolant

Drivetrain Specs

HKS 5 speed airshifted gearbox/HKS H pattern 6 speed dog gearbox (backup), Sumo heavily modified 4WD transfer case, HKS drag driveshafts front and rear, HKS triple plate clutch & flywheel, HKS Hipermax Drag suspension & custom spring rates, Cusco 1.5way LSD front diff, Cusco 2way LSD rear diff, CTG Torqline carbon propshaft, Wilwood lightweight 4 pot brakes (x4), Sumo heavily modified front subframe, Sumo front anti-rollbar (undisc), JUN rear drag subframe, Do-Luck rear diff mounts, Do-Luck suspension bushes, Do-Luck subframe locking kit, Nismo subframe bushes, Cusco anti-hicas lock kit, Cusco camber adjusters, Cusco traction rods, Ikeya Formula front traction rods, Trust front diff extension plate, Hauser main propshaft safety loop, Hauser welded engine mounts

Just take a look at how clean the camgears and plumbing fittings are - the guys at Sumo Power know how to take care of their car!

Inside, the cockpit is all business. No plastic interior trim, no leather seats, no touchscreen DVD players. This cockpit has been designed to be all function, but I happen to think it looks pretty cool too. Here's a rundown of the interior specs:

AAR racing seat FIA approved, Teamtech 6 point racing harness FIA approved, Hauser racing multipoint weld-in cage ( 7.5sec spec FIA), Sumo carbon fibre dash, Lifeline fire extinguisher system, Do-Luck Boost gauge, Cartek electronic battery isolator, HKS shift knob, HKS FCon V Pro 3.2 ECU & loom, HKS EVC5 boost controller, HKS airshifter control box, HKS airshifter solenoid bank, HKS airshifter gas bottle & regulator, HKS mixture controller, HKS trigger button, Hauser control switch panel, Varley Redtop battery, Custom wiring loom/electrical system, Custom 4WD system, Linelock, Wilwood pedals ( brake & clutch ), Hauser throttle pedal, Lambretta throttle cable, Sparco Steering wheel, Sparco quick release steering boss, Deist parachute lever, Hauser Aero window catches, OMP window net, AutoMeter 4WD gauge

Datalogging Equipment

Motec ADL Dash, Following motec sensors:, Engine Oil Temp, Engine Oil Pressure, Engine Water Temp, Intercooler IN temp, Intercooler OUT temp, Inlet plenum temp, Exhaust gas temp,AFR/Lambda, Throttle position, Clutch position, 4WD pressure, Front left wheel speed, Front right wheel speed, Rear left wheel speed, Rear right wheel speed. Steering position, 3D G sensor, Front left suspension travel, Front right suspension travel, Rear left suspension travel, Rear right suspension travel, RPM signal, Boost pressure

Look at the carbon fiber doors, and the pushed back seat, modified shifter and elongated steering column - the Sumo Power R33 has been modified to push the driver's weight back towards the rear axles of the vehicle for better weight transfer characteristics during its hard drag launches! This thing looks crazy!

Also spot the hydraulic lever, mounted to the left of the transmission tunnel - but it isn't an emergency brake for drifting! Andy uses this to control the ratio of power going to the front and rear wheels. The gauge on the left side is used to show how much pressure/power bias is being used... Andy says that this is the secret to drag racing an AWD GTR! I tried to ask him how much psi he builds up with the hydraulic lever before launch, and he laughed, and said something smart like "wouldn't you like to know, mate?" Haha, I just dropped the subject... honestly, it wouldn't even benefit me to know how much psi he launches at, because it's not like I have an 8 second drag GTR to use that knowledge with anyway!

Here's the rear of the Sumo Power GTR as it deep stages at Santa Pod, preparing to blast down the dragstrip for the Speedhunters cameras! Even standing still, it looks fast!

-Antonio Alvendia

Sumo Power