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Steve’s R35 GTR
Thats right, theres one in Perth and it belongs to one of our members...

It’s the day after Motorvation, and helping provide Perth’s leading coverage on the event usually means the day is reserved for sleep and relaxation. Not this year however. I’m excited, very excited as I stand with a steady stream of drool running from my lip….



The story starts the weekend previous, and begins with an innocent Sunday lunch and drive through Fremantle. Taking a slight detour out the back of the E-Shed Markets and past the docks, I’m about to head for home when I spot something out the corner of my eye… it can’t be, can it? Doing a somewhat desperate u-turn, I jump out and see it with my own eyes. Sitting tucked away in the corner of the Fremantle docks, is a car which many motoring fans have been waiting nearly a decade for – the Nissan R35 GTR. Hardly containing my excitement, I frantically drive home and return a little later and snap off some pictures of the beast. Within hours, internet based car forums explode with the news. Everyone wants to know the same thing I do – who does it belong to, and why is it here? Nissan Australia don’t have one of their own at this time, as the car is not slated for release until 2009 here. A substantial amount of digging, scratching and some poking reveals the car belongs to Fabcar. So who the hell is Fabcar you ask?

Some of you may be more familiar with their old name, Auto Wholesale. Based on the Causeway and in Cannington, they are the undisputed leaders in the import of high quality Japanese Imports in Western Australia – think Skyline, Evo, RX7 and Delica just to name a few. With 35 years of experience, they are able to facilitate customers with every aspect of purchase from importation to finance and insurance. Some of you may be excited at this point in time, hoping to head on down and to buy a R35 GTR of your own. Well there’s good and bad news. Bad news – currently the R35 is not eligible for import under the national SEVS regulations, except for race purposes only. This means they cannot be legally registered and driven on the streets. The other bad news is this one has already been snapped up. In fact by the time you read this, it will be joined by a silver version.


Both cars will be part of the newly launched Fabcar Racing Team. The black one will be driven by young gun Steve Jones, who managed an extremely respectful 4th in Targa West last year behind 3 great names – Richards, Longhurst and Dunkerton is a privately entered Evo 8 MR. The silver one will be piloted by local legend Tolley Challis – well known for his local rallying exploits and T.V shows. Together they will tackle the 2008 Targa West event, for which Fabcar is also supplying cars for course officials. Certainly great to see them supporting motor sport in WA. This was all announced at a VIP launch party on Wednesday the 23rd of January – three days after Motorvation.

Back to the Monday, and the reasons for the drool. Unlike normal antilag.com features, this car is totally standard. This however, isn’t really a bad thing when you look at the specifications

While Nissan quotes an 11.8 second quarter mile time, at least 3 independent publications have gone quicker, with a time as low as 11.3 recorded. This car recorded a 11.67 while bouncing off the 180kmh speed cut at the Motorplex for further proof that these times are real. For a car that is rumoured to cost around $150 000 when it lands, that is astonishing pace. For reference this is quicker then most factory Porches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and at a much lower price. Better still, I’m about to get a taste of what the car can do. Sitting quietly, idling away, the car gives no real indication of the immense performance lying underneath.
It is a stunning looking car; it somehow manages to ooze style, while informing you that it’s going to eat your offspring and spit them out once it gets down to business. Inside and out, this is a step above any Nissan I’ve ever seen. To quote one respected member of the automotive scene in WA “it feels like a top end Audi or BMW M car inside, it really is a massive step up” I spend a good deal of time playing with the LCD – it displays every single performance parameter and the driver can scroll through with ease to check everything from oil pressure to cornering g force. Great stuff. 1000 questions and a great deal of pictures later, we get down to business. Steve Jones jumps in the driver’s seat, and I strap myself into the passenger seat. Fabcar, while extremely generous in their offer, had advised me early in the piece that the car was still being run in, and there would be no opportunity for me to drive it. Not that I complained, I was more then happy to be one of the first on Australia soil to experience the GTR, and I didn’t want to chance breaking such an expensive piece of equipment!






Easing out onto the AHG long track, Steve clicks up through the gears via the paddle mounted shifters. While only taking the motor to 4000rpm, it is obvious that there is no lack of power being created by the twin turbo v6 nestled in front of our feet. The DSG box is smooth, which is a pleasant surprise. Even in standard mode (there is an R mode with speeds up the shifts substantially) the gears changes are almost instant, and unlike a manual there is no chance of mis-shifting. Coming into the hairpin at the far end of the track, Steve is still accelerating much further I would have dared. Finally, he lets the massive brake package do its job, and the car makes the corner with ease. The handling is for lack of a better word, stupidly good. Not once did the car feel like it wanted to step off line, miss an apex, or get out of shape under power exiting the corner. Thanks Nissans advanced 4WD system and electronic suspension for that, with the ATTESA ensuring maximum power to the appropriate corner at all times while the ride was perfectly suited to the AHG track. And this was all on the opening lap! Each time round, Steve pushes a little bit harder, and just when you think the GTR has nothing more to give, it reaches into its bag of tricks and simply accepts the challenge given to it. Braking markers become redundant, and corner speeds that your mates at the pub wouldn’t believe, are all achieved in a dead standard Nissan. 12 laps later, the fun is over, and Steve peels off into the pits. He is smiling, I am smiling, Tolley, who has been watching with interest, is smiling, and staff from Fabcar who have come along are all smiling. We all know the same thing – the legend is back, and it hasn’t lost any of its sparkle. Rather then simply keeping up the tradition of the R32, 33 and 34 GTR, it has taken the name to an all new level. It’s no longer content with being the king of Japanese performance, this time it has set its sights higher, much higher. Look out Europe; look out America, because the legend is real, and its here. Be afraid, be very afraid.

As we head back from the airport, it begins to dawn upon me what I have just been apart of. Further more, I begin to realise once again that this car is dead standard. Having been in many a modified car, it’s fair to say most of them are loud, difficult to drive in traffic, uncomfortable, and often missing creature comforts such as air conditioning. This car is the total opposite – it has rolled off a production line, onto a boat in Japan, and onto the track, to stamp its authority as the best all round car I have ever been in. I am still in awe several days later while writing these words for you antilag.com members. I highly advise keeping an eye out to see it hit the track for more testing and development, and if you miss those, make sure you get out to Targa West this year to see these in action. You will not be disappointed.

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