Car Spotlight>> Not Your Average S15

For most of us it is pretty rare to see an actual GT300 car in the flesh and it is even rarer seeing one outside of Japan. But what if you got the opportunity to buy one? Sometimes it helps when you have contacts in Japan that think of you when they have something special. This happened to Radni Molhampour, the owner of the car, when he got a text message from Rick that runs draganddrift.com.

At first Radni had no idea what to expect, after seeing a few pictures he thought it was a just a tuned S15, but after seeing several youtube SuperGT videos and more photos off the actual car he realized this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The seller at the time was in a bit of financial turmoil so Radni had to act fast and close the deal.

After Radni had put down a deposit it took several weeks before he got a confirmation he was now the owner of the original Unisia Jecs GT300 S15 Silvia. Because this was a official race car and Nismo helped build it they ordered that the stickers had to be removed. Another important thing that wasn't included in the deal was the engine.

The original engine stayed with Nismo for further development. It was an SR engine that had a dry sump system and magnesium oil pan amongst other one off items. Nismo couldn't risk that the engine could possibly fell in competitors hands.

As you can see Radni got his hands on another SR20 that has been completely rebuild. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my hand on the complete spec list of this engine. I do know that it features a custom dry sump system and that the Calsonic radiator and intercooler remained from the original SR setup.

Another item that Radni got his hands on was the Hewland IGTC sequential gearbox that weighs an impressive 27kg thanks to its magnesium housing.

When you lift the carbon trunk  you'll notice that the 80L fuel tank is in front of the rear wheels for a better weight distribution. The trunk itself has been completely gutted and reinforced with carbon parts. The dry sump tank and brake fluid reservoir still managed to find a place in there.

The interior hasn't changed much except for the seat and the addition of the AIM dash logger system. The black square in the rear window is actually an air duct that directs its air through a carbon box that ends in the trunk. The extensive rollcage has been carefully contstructed by the engineers at Nismo.

A closer look at the dash logger that shows Radni all the vital statistics of the engine. The knobs on the right of the logger are the AP brake bias adjusters.  

The wide body kit has been produced by Nismo and is obviously not for sale on the market. From this angle you can also see how much wider this car is than the original S15

I was surprised to see that the front are exactly the same as the rear wheels. They come in 18" and are made from magnesium and can be changed via the center lock. The wheels are wrapped in 280 width rubber.

The car has a very trick suspension system made by Nismo that features Bilstein shocks that are mounted horizontally. From this angle you can also see several radiators that include one for the LSD, one for the transmission and also one for the brake fluid.

I would love to see this car in the flesh some day, so I'm already looking at options to travel to Norway this year to witness one of the many Gatebil events. I sure hope this beast will also be present at one of those events.

-Jeroen Willemsen

 Thanks to Egil Arne Håsjold for sending me some of his photo's

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1

Wallpaper necessary!!!...

2

Thanks a lot for sharing this, the work on a race car is really impressive, radiators for everything explains the real nature of what is a real race car.

4

This would be great for the Redline Time Attack!

Drop a RB26 and this would break records!

5

madness! what an incredible opportunity! i can only imagine what this car feels like to drive

6

And i was just about to ask "where's all the track spec Silvia in this fest"

7

OMFG - Talk about one lucky bastard!

8

That thing is amazing :0

9

Love that he's kept it pure white with just the numbers. Looks gorgeous!

10

def sick. any laptime results for this thing?

11

Nice. Though I like it better plain white than with the graphics. Pretty cool that its the ex-Unisia car!!

12

Rad. Imagine being at a track day and seeing that...!

13

Thats my kind of flushness : mag wheels under wide carbon wheel arches and not the heavy ( in term of looks and, of course, weight ) chromed Kranze or co.



Its a shame we don't see retired Super GT ( or JGTC, or even JTCC) cars racing...

14

One of the best looking GT cars in the world of all time in my opinion. Absolutely PERFECT in it's proportions. One of my favourite PH articles for a good while.



Would be interested in more info on the car if any exists e.g. how much of it is actually a real Silvia; more about the engine (looked like it had the SR20VE head on it if I remember correctly); front suspension setup; etc. Any vids would be good too.

15

And also a big thanks to Camilla Smistad Tofterå, Racephoto, Tvergrov.com and Elin Orum for photos.. There is now a new bigger engine in the car,,, V something=)... I hope SH will do a new feature on it when the car is ready=)..

16

Interesting indeed....the amount of money that this cost to rebuild ontop of just getting out of japan....this guy is A: loaded, B: Lucky, C: WELL CONNECTED.



nice to know the Unisia is in a good home!

17

Would love the see a GT300 Silvia up close.

18

Hi guys:) Thanks for all the kind words:)

The new engine and sequensial gearbox system is going to be crazy:)

2,5 V6 DTM engine with 11 900 rpm 300 N / 500 HP. the car gets 80 kg lighter to:)



Will update some photoes soon on speedhumters.com facebook page:)





19

This car is AWESOME! I absolutely love seeing s-chassis cars that aren't built for drifting, and take no influence from the drift scene. This car is pretty much the definition of that. I too would like to know the performance capabilities of this car. Someone please find some lap times, and keep featuring s-chassis that are built for racing!

20

what can i say dude is owning a DREAM CAR!!!

21

on the first shot I thought that was the Wu-tang symbol on the over head lol

22

We dident get any good laptimes in 2010.

Because of engine problems every time:( So 2010 was more just to get the car finished and test it..

We couldt build the engine like Nismo had, So our SR20 DET diden t last all the time, because of this we dident get any seriouse laptimes over here. We raced 6 of 12 laos in the GT1 Series in Norway, and came total 9 th place. thisis crap, so for the 2011 sesson we are aiming for theTOP 3.



But i have some laptimes from Japan when Unisia Jetz raced it:)



TI circuit: 6th

Fuji speedway: 2nd time = 2:02.181

Sugo circuit: 2nd time = 1:26.988

Sepand: 1st time = 2:10.945

Fuji: 2nd time = 1:34.678

Motegi 1st time = 1:58.570

Suzuka: 2nd time = 2:10.402

CP Mine 8th = 1:30:515



TI circuit 3rd = 1:33.369

The Nagisa Auto R34 GTR 800 HP drived at TI Circute 3 yers later and got the laptime 1:34:.076

The Silvia had only 300 HP!!!!!!



Fuji: 4th

Sugo 1st = 1:25.340 (ONE SECOND FASTER THAN LAST YEAR)!!









23

ive seen it live at gatebil. its a BEAST! and it gets a new 11900 rpm n/a v6 for the 2011 season. if you would like to know more, check out his homepage : http://www.gt300.no/

24



Hasemi Motosports drived this years with the S15 GT300 2001/ 2002 / 2003



TI circuit: 6th

Fuji speedway: 2nd time = 2:02.181

Sugo circuit: 2nd time = 1:26.988

Sepand: 1st time = 2:10.945

Fuji: 2nd time = 1:34.678

Motegi 1st time = 1:58.570

Suzuka: 2nd time = 2:10.402

CP Mine 8th = 1:30:515



TI circuit 3rd = 1:33.369

NAGISA AUTO 800hp R34 GTR best lap time on this TI Circuit, is : 1:34.076 ( 3 years later then the Silvia drived and it only had 300 hp..





Fuji: 4th

Sugo 1st = 1:25.340 (ONE SECOND FASTER THAN LAST YEAR)!!



25

Nice buy !!

26

The only POSSIBLE think that could make it better would be one-piece mag wheels :) Just a little lighter. This is the kinda car I love.

27

Thanks to the owner for giving us some visual access to a dream car such as this - please keep us posted on how its going.

28

Nice article, and especially fun that you have used my photos of Radni Molhampour's JGTC car!

There are many cool cars in Norway at the Gatebil-events, I think it's time for Speedhunters to visit us this summer. :)

29

Ive the owner of this car
He's brought it back to its racing glory and the car now is in mint condition in Sydney Australia

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