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Posted
Jan 03 2011, 06:45 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 36 comment(s)
When I was in my teens, every year I'd look forward to the six hour drive from Vancouver to Oregon, to watch the G.I. Joes Grand Prix at Portland International Raceway. It was an amazing time for sports car racing in America, with factory entries from Jaguar, Nissan, Toyota, and Ford as well as a host of privateer Porsches. In the support role to the big prototypes were the GTs, which amazingly enough, had enough numbers to run in a totally separate race. The main players back then were the AAR...
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Posted
Oct 21 2010, 04:30 PM
by
Patrick McGrath
with 26 comment(s)
Zero compromise. I think it's probably the only way to describe this 350Z. The original idea was to build the first Japanese car to compete in the FIA Pro Modified Championship and literally no stone has been left unturned in it's development. Those who have read the Project GTST feature will have read about the level of detail John Bradshaw went through to push the car to it's status as the world's fastest Nissan Skyline. The car is currently running around 1800BHP with plans in...
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Posted
Mar 02 2010, 08:15 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 19 comment(s)
Here's the second part of my Skyline retrospective from November '08.
Now we will continue our look back at the history of the Nissan Skyline from where we left off yesterday, with the R30 chassis. The R30 was released in 1981 and moved towards a more modern design than the C210 model. The coupe versions in particular were very good looking cars with a sleek, stretched out look. In Japan the R30 Skyline TV commercials featured legendary actor and driver Paul Newman, and there was even a special "Paul Newman version" of the car sold in Japan.The example in the photo above is the 1981 2000GT-ES coupe model, which was powered by the turbocharged L20ET engine. ...
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Posted
Mar 01 2010, 01:26 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 25 comment(s)
Note - To kick off "Skyline Week", here's a repost of a retrospective I did during Nissan Month in November '08.
The Skyline is one of Japan's longest running car models and Nissan celebrated the 50th anniversary of the car in 2007. 50+ years is a long time for ANY car model, especially a Japanese one. Actually, to say "Nissan Skyline Retrospective" is not entirely correct as the earliest models were not made by Nissan itself, but by the Prince Motor Company, which merged with Nissan in 1966. The model pictured above is the first Skyline ever, the 1957 Prince Skyline....
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Posted
Dec 09 2008, 11:35 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 54 comment(s)
I'm sure just about everyone knows about Initial D . So what about Wangan Midnight ? If you don't know by now, Wangan Midnight is an extremely popular comic from Japan, which features an S30 240Z (instead of the AE86 panda Trueno in Initial D) and wangan /highway racing. So I was browsing through one of my favorite AE86 forums, Club4AG, and found this thread , which says that they are making an actual Wangan Midnight movie! Cool! I'm very interested in seeing how this movie turns out...
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Posted
Dec 05 2008, 10:45 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 13 comment(s)
Right now might be the off-season as far as most automotive activity goes, but here in Japan things couldn't be busier. Tomorrow I'll be heading out to Yokohama to have a look at the much-anticipated Mooneyes Hot Rod and Custom Car Show, and right after that it'll be time to prepare for Wednesday's big Rev Speed time attack at Tsukuba Circuit. Before we move on to the stuff though, I have a few more photos I wanted to share from last weekend's Nismo Festival....
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Posted
Dec 05 2008, 04:52 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 36 comment(s)
There are no words that can really describe just how quick the Super GT Nissan GTR is...... This simply is THE fastest GT style race car in the world today. Nothing else comes close. Presented by Nismo engineer Ricardo Divila, this is a rare look into the exclusive world of top level Japanese motorsports. It took us a long time, and much negotiating to get access to this car. Many thanks to Nissan (thanks Toru!) and the Nismo team for their hospitality at the Suzuka 1000 kms. I also need to thank...
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Posted
Dec 05 2008, 03:56 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 6 comment(s)
You requested it, so we rewind... Speedhunters is proud to present our exclusive Nissan 370Z desktop, in standard and widescreen formats! Props to one of our favorite CMG Sharpshooters, Chris Manacop , for creating one of the most visually striking 370Z images on the internet! 370Z desktops are available for download in our Speedhunters desktops gallery NOW. Tell all your friends! (And your internet friends that you've never actually met in real life!) -Antonio Alvendia
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Posted
Dec 04 2008, 06:52 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 23 comment(s)
Like Rod said in his December editorial, our bombardment of Nissan features may be winding down but we still have some more cool Nissan stuff to post. For example, more photos from last weekend's Nismo Festival at Fuji Speedway. I couldn't help trying include Mt. Fuji in some of my shots from the event, all it takes is one look at the mountain on a clear day and you will know why it's such an iconic symbol in Japan. Of course the historic 510 and S30Z rally cars in this photo are also iconic to Nissan enthusiasts....
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Posted
Dec 02 2008, 02:00 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 20 comment(s)
By now, many of our Speedhunters readers have probably already read my " driving impression story " on the new Nissan 370Z. However, I wanted to take a quick look back at the design similarities between the new 370Z and the old school S30-chassis 240Z. I thought it would be pretty cool to do a photo shoot showing both the new and old Zs together. However, I had a hard time finding a clean yellow Z to shoot; I wanted a yellow 240Z because our 370Z test car would be yellow as well. I called...
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Posted
Dec 02 2008, 06:47 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 14 comment(s)
Now for some coverage from the Nissan mecca that was the 2008 Nismo Festival at Fuji Speedway. Above, we have the 2005 Super GT Nismo Xanavi Z rounding FSW's final corner with Mt. Fuji looming in the background.This shot was taken during the special race that included Super GT and Super Taikyu Z's mixed with some of Nissan's Group C cars.This race was perfect for Z33 fans as they could see all the different race versions of the car racing together....
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Posted
Dec 01 2008, 04:50 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 41 comment(s)
As many of you know, the all-new Nissan 370Z was unveiled about a week-and-a-half ago at the LA Auto Show. The unveiling of the new Z's body style was a big deal for Nissan and Z lovers alike, with lots of industry events and parties celebrating the car's launch. This week, scores of America's top automotive journalists will be traveling to Las Vegas to drive the new 370Z for the first time, at the official Nissan press event. It was awfully nice of Nissan to loan us the car before all...
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Posted
Dec 01 2008, 01:25 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 16 comment(s)
I never really thought I could be "sick" of seeing Skyline GT-R's, but after spending all day yesterday at the 2008 Nismo Festival (and sitting in traffic jams on the way home), that's how I'm feeling...OK, so I'm not really sick of seeing them, but that shows just how big the Nismo Festival is. The auto industry isn't in good shape right now, but you wouldn't know it after being at this event. In fact, from an enthusiast's standpoint, things are actually looking pretty good for Nissan. One year later the GT-R is considered to be one of the world's best performance cars, the new and improved Z34 Fairlady is about to hit, and Nissan race teams were dominant in Super GT this year. It's a good time to be a Nissan fan....
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Posted
Nov 28 2008, 03:00 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 55 comment(s)
Damn, just look at how mean and how cool this 180SX looks in this photo!!! I'm not even an S13 guy, but it makes me drool! This is definitely the type of car that would inspire someone to buy an S13!!! Damn, I love it!!! So dope. I know that some Speedhunters readers have been waiting for this feature for quite some time! Sorry for the wait guys, we were saving this one for Nissan month! How could we have Nissan month without Koguchi's RPS13 180SX? Come on! This past summer, we posted a few...
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Posted
Nov 28 2008, 01:40 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 19 comment(s)
When I say the name Millen, what is the first image that comes into your head? A Red Bull Pontiac Solstice sliding its way to drifting victory? Or a wild Toyota hill climb car clawing its way up Pikes Peak mountain? Or... do you think of Nissan 300ZX road race cars winning everything in sight? Rhys Millen's relationship with his father, the king of Pike Peak, Rod Millen is reasonably well known in Speedhunters circles, but perhaps less documented is the racing lineage to his uncle, Steve Millen...
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Posted
Nov 28 2008, 11:45 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 19 comment(s)
This car is my favorite R34. It's a perfect example of how a Time Attack Skyline should look like. Best thing of it all, it has the performance figures to back it up. Last year, during the Revspeed Time Attack Challenge at Tsukuba, Mspeed achieved the fastest time of 54:481 seconds, making it the fastest Skyline of the day. This year, they'll return and will be facing some stiff competition from the Prostock R34 and Nagisa Auto R34. I can't wait for the coverage that Mike will be posting...
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Posted
Nov 28 2008, 09:45 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 9 comment(s)
Although some people may think the body style is past due for the next stage of evolution, the 2008 Infiniti M45S (equipped with the Sport Package) still brings a smile to my face. Perhaps it is the way the responsive steering feels or the rumble of the 325 horsepower V8 underneath my right foot - either way I usually approach and leave the car with the same smile. Infiniti has produced a long line of solid luxury cars which for some reason have not gotten the recognition that I feel they deserve...
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Posted
Nov 28 2008, 07:44 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 10 comment(s)
And now for a look at the history of another one of Nissan's most famous cars, the Silvia and its sister-models. I'm sure when most of you hear "Silvia", you probably picture a tuned S13 or S15 blasting through a corner sideways, but the model actually has roots that go back 45 years. The first Nissan Silvia was the CSP311 model which was shown at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show. The CSP311 shared the same platform as the Fairlady 1600 Roadster, but had a stylish hand-crafted coupe body. It was really more of a specialty car than one aimed for mass markets. They were produced in very low numbers until 1968 and are very valuable collectors car today. Interestingly, the first Silvia was used as a highway patrol car by the police in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture....
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Posted
Nov 27 2008, 03:16 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
Excess. That's the only word that can describe the Super Silhouette race cars of the 1980's. They were excessive in power, looks, and image. Nissan in particular had a few different Super Silhouette racers that were very successful in competition and inspired waves of Japanese car owners to mimic their style of outlandish wide body kits, giant rear spoilers, and mega-wide wheels. Before we look at the cars themselves, a quick intro to the Super Silhouette series is in order....
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Posted
Nov 27 2008, 01:01 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
Being an American in Japan on Thanksgiving is kind of tough since uhh...there is no Thanksgiving here. I don't even think you can buy a Turkey in Japan. Anyways, enough of my ethnocentric moping. Here are a couple of Nissan-related high res desktop wallpapers for you guys. One is a shot of Koguchi's D1GP 180SX in action, and the other is this shot from last week's HPI event at Tsukuba Circuit. Both widescreen and standard versions can be found in our Desktops section. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it, and to the rest of you, just enjoy the wallpapers!...
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