Thanks to my fellow Speedhunters Andy and Rod we can see the R35's that were present during the Sema show. I will make another User Ranking post out of this because the first one was a success. We saw that the muscle cars were very popular at Sema, but I'm not really into those kind of cars so I'm glad I can show you these Nissan's.
I felt that Sema was a bit too early to really make the R35 stand out. There is not a whole lot available except carbon lips, exhausts and a bodykit made by Zele. Next year during the Tokyo Auto Salon it will be a whole different ball game. But first things first.
I will start off with one of the R35's from Bulletproof Automotive. The car has a massive spec list including a Amuse front diffuser, spoiler and suspension. Other parts that found its way to this R35 came from Zele and Mine's. The wheels are BBS LM-PDK in 20" with a Endless 6pot brake setup behind them.
I really feel that graphics let the car down, I know sponsors blah blah, but if it was plain white with the carbon accents it would look a whole lot better. Still, this is one of my favorite just because of the way it was build and the parts that were used.
Next up is this GT-R that could be found on the HRE stand. We all know HRE because of their wheels, this car had two sets of wheels, on the side we can see it had 20" 540's and on the other side it featured a set of the 994R in 20". The other part that was quite unique was the matte finish that went from the front to the back and covered the hood, roof and trunk lid. I'm not really fond of the smoked headlights.
This car is rocking some 22" Giovanna wheels called the GFG Telaviv. The rest of the car looks standard so I don't have a lot to say about it. I do think that when you put such large wheels on this performance car you lose the original intention this car was built for.
Here's another example that follows the same style as the previous car. I just don't understand the people that do stuff like this. I know about different folks and different strokes, but this goes against all that the GT-R stands for.
Ah yes, a midnight purple R35 GT-R. I love it. This car was also designed by Ben Schaffer from Bulletproof Automotive fame. This car has a complete Zele carbon fibre bodykit and a Amuse spoiler. The BBS LM are the preferred choice and I totally agree they look awesome. Under the hood we can find a COBB ECU upgrade and a new exhaust system. The car was featured on the Toyo Tires stand.
The Mine's R35 wears a lot of carbon parts designed by Mine's specifically for the R35 like the front splitter and winglets on the frontbumper. The car already wears the new TE37 G2, I've heard a lot of mixed comments about these wheels but I think they look good. Only thing that Volk should have done is to give the new design a new name.
Seibon, the carbon specialist, had this R35 on offer. The car has a plethora of dry carbon parts including front spoiler, grill, hood, side skirts and a trunk. The wheels are a set of Gram Lights R57-GT the same as the Zele demo car.
Rod sent me a small batch of pictures of this car and it looks amazing. It features some Amuse carbon parts and the right wheels, do you have any idea which one? I did spot a small Signal sticker so I guess they have build the car for a customer. I do not have any more info regarding this car.
This R35 was prepared by Vivid Racing and I was told it should resemble an old Japanese war plane. I'm not sure if they succeeded but it sure looks different. I'm not really down with the 20" Capital forged wheels.
Another beautiful GT-R, this time build by Z Car Garage. I really like the design. Z Car went shopping at HRE for the wheels and at Bulletproof Automotive for the other exterior parts. HRE provided the car with a set 20" C90 wheels from their competition series. The rest of the car features some Zele carbon parts, Top Secret suspension and a HKS titanium exhaust.
The car that won the Mother Choice Design Excellence Award, the Zele Performance demo car. The car was a part of the Eneos Oil stand. It has so many carbon parts I do not know where to start. But I suspect all of you have seen the car before and are familiar with what it stands for.
The first yellow R35 from Axis Wheels. Wheels are of course made by Axis. The carbon aero parts are provided by APR and Password:JDM.
The Titek Innovations R35 has the obligatory BBS LM rims and was stationed on the Hankook Tires stand. I do not have a lot of info regarding this car but it does look good.
I have made my choice but which Nissan R35 GT-R would you want to take home after the Sema Show? Please let me know in the comments.
-Jeroen Willemsen
The last two pictures are from the Autoblog site, check here for more.
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jeroen, i think all the SEMA GTRs were poorly done... except for Mine's, Zele (orange), and TiTek.
i cant decide between z cars, or axis.....
I think its just insane that 20" wheels are making their way onto performance cars. Just a few years ago 20's were thought to be big on a SUV. What is the world coming to?
The Mine's one is the only one that I like.
I like them all cause at the end of the day I'd have a GTR..it's always easy to paint and change stuff if need be. Zele, Mines and Axis win me over completely though.
Maybe was the best of sema...
mmmm... Mine's was the best GTR!!!...
I really liked the white one in the Falken booth mainly the computer controlled wing. Also the Orange Zele car as well.
1. Z car Garage
2. Zele
3. Mines
Those 3 offered the most complete package, while maintaining a subtle look. Everyone else used similar parts, but tried to hard to differentiate from the other cars, in most cases making them look worse than stock. I will admit ,the bulletproof cars have grown on me since the show as show cars, however I prefer to keep it real to the streets, and the 3 above are ones I would love to drive on a daily basis.
Z Car Garage gets my vote.
I think they were all just so so though. It is like someone photoshopped the same car with different wheels and different colors. Very cookie cutter in their approach.
I'd like to see one of these companies drop the wheel size down to 18s rather then stay at or go above the 20" wheels. Leave big wheels on SUVs.
MINE'S hands down.
Z Car Garage is the winner for me. Overall a clean look but for a show car it would be the BulletProof cars even though the stickers were just over kill.
The 20's are too big but the HRE's on the Z Car looked smaller. Either way it looks good on the car with that stance and basic lip kit. I would like to see some bbs rims on it.
the GTR with the signal sticker and amuse aero looks the best then the mines gtr. Titek gtr also looks great. 18"wheels would look retarded on a gtr (Unless the tires and wheels were like those on a GT500 car) considering the car came with 20s in the first place.
the giovanna and dub gtrs on 22's are a waste of a perfectly good gtrs. it's like they are castrated.
"This R35 was prepared by Vivid Racing and I was told it should resemble an old Japanese war plane"
So it should be white instead... They fail at a point they even dont know.
No comments on the 22 inched GT-R's, thats just a waste. Dont blame them, they don't know what they do!!
I love the Bulletproof Auto cars because they have the most extensive spec-sheet. I know people aren't really digging the Mana-P graphics, but the work into it made it good for me. But, of course, we all love the Mine's GT-R. And that axis GT-R sucks, very distasteful! Also that Japanese warplane (looks like a kindergarten design), and the Seibon car sucks.
I'm pretty sure those are iForged Sprints on the white GTR with the Signal sticker.
Z Car Garage All The Way. They Keep It Clean And Simple. Plus, It Works
mines and z car garage
Does SEMA (or any other tuning show) revolve around the new GT-R? How about ALL the other sports sports cars? No I'm not talking about the new EVO or the new STi......how about the Toyota MR-S? Lotus Exige? Golf R32?.....350Z?......S2000?.....Civic Type R?.....I can go on and on....
I would say the midnight purple one without a doubt. What isn't to love about the sexiest limited edition color for R34's on an R35!!!
What the heck were they thinking at vivd racing...that thing just looks awful.
I thought the Mines, Mightnight purple Bulletproof (minus the graphics of course, haha), Zele and Z Car Garage cars were pretty amazing.
if i remember well,the wheel on the signal auto are advan t7 and as for car ranking
all ex aequo on the top 1 postion is both bulletproof gtr and the mines one.
1. Mines
2. Zele
3. Signal(?)
As far as the less tastefully cars are concerned, understand that the GTR now belongs to an echelon of cars that appeal to those who aspire to have an expensive car period, performance capabilities be damned. If the name had a little more "panache" to it, I'm sure we'd be hearing about it in a hip-hop song or two. I will however add, that the GTR equipped with the Wald kit does a fair job of appealing to both "Show" and "GO!" camps.
I'm a little disappointed at what they did with the GT-R. First of all, who ever thought it was a good idea for a GT-R rolling on DUBS? It looks seriously awkward and out of place. Vivid Racing also made mess out of the GT-R and is just done distastefully. Both of the Bulletproof Automotive do look nice, but I have to go for the Axis Wheels GT-R. They look the most striking and looks what it made for, to be driven.
Of course, none of these will ever come close as their Japanese counterparts.....
Top 5
1. Zele
2. Mines
3. White BulletProof (love the mana-p graphics, its like a D1 car!)
4. Midnight Purple Bulletproof
5. Z Car
Awesome turn out being that its so early in the life of this car.
Worst 4
1. VividRacing
2. Axis
3. BRANEW
4. Seibowned
Alex:
SEMA is always full of the "new" car. Usually it is to show off a new car and the newest of parts available for it. Older platforms usually aren't being developed or if they are it is at a much slower pace so companies don't bring them out. As an MR-S owner I would love to see one at SEMA but now that it has been out of production for 4 years I don't think we will ever see it.
1. mines
2. signal
3. titek
others still acceptable but vivid racing was awful...
I think most of those are pretty distasteful, the mines one though was very nice and the axis car would look awsome if it was black
Thanks guys. By the way the car with the Signal sticker is another car I was involved with. It's John's car and it was on display at the iForged wheels booth. FYI, I had nothing to do with the 22" rims....I did however supply the Amuse suspension, Amuse front diffuser, full Titan Amuse exhaust and the Amuse dry carbon wing for that car. The 22"s are just for show, the owner actually tracks his car heavily and he has 3 sets of OEM rims/tires for track days.
Sorry many of you guys arent feeling Mana-Ps graphics on my main two demo cars. I still love Mana-P's designs, but if you're judging it as a discreet understated street car then I understand that a stickered up show/race car wouldnt be the right look for your tastes. Our "street" image car is the car that we did with Jonathan (installation of parts by Z-Car garage). (actually Bulletproof is the official title sponsor of that car but Z-Car Garage does indeed get major props for the install under tough time pressure!).
1.Mine's
2.Seibon
I hate to see chrome on this car.
That DUB GTR.... makes me sick... what a waste... the one above that is gawd awful too.....
Mine's in my fav GTR here .... (much to the consensus of everyone elese).
However Im not a fan of black wheels on white... I think some white TE37's would look much better.
1. Zele
2. Z Car
3. Mine's
4. Bulletproof/Mobile1 (midnight purple)
Notice on the Vivid R35 there are BMW, Ferrari, and Porsche logos with slashes through them what a nice touch =] I do love that Mine's Skyline! And who ever let Dub get ahold of a R35 should be immediately kicked in the nuts...
MINES!
It was great to see all of these cars in person! What's up with the extremely poorly done graphic installation done on both bulletproof automotive cars? I'm sure the owners paid a grip for the design - which im not too fond of. The vinyl was a mess -- bubbles, swirl marks and scratches! Definitely not up to par for the car and to be at prime locations @ SEMA. I even brought it up to the owners that the vinyl was taking away from the awesomeness of the cars. But up close it looked like a hot mess. The owners said it was last minute I can recommend you to a handful of installers who could have gotten the job done right the night before. Just during my time standing there every comment I heard was about the graphics about either how they didnt like the design or how shitty of an install it was. Both Bulletproof cars were dope and once all the vinyl comes off Im sure those 2 cars will be at the top of everyones list!
@Erik Wilson:
Unfortunately I have to disagree with you. At SEMA older platform are always on display. Last year I spotted few Miata's.....and Honda Element and even a Matrix.
The Nissan S platforms for instance (S13, RPS13, S14, S15) have made such a BIG impact in the tuning scene with the drifting landing on our shores......it's not even funny.....boring I may say. People can't drift anything else? Or is it the lack of think-outside-the-box attitude?
How many people drift (competitively) a Mercedes ? None ! It's a FR layout.....what's wrong with that? Than there are big corporate dumping $$$ into GT-R's where there are many other choices out there.
I hate to stereotype, but most of time I see a Nissan S13 (beat up of course), it's always a Takumi-wanna-be that drives it.
What I'm trying to say is, it would be awesome if people stop following the trend and think with their own head instead, and bring something FRESHESS to this scene, which is much needed. SEMA, drifting.....whatever; just think with your own head.
1. Mine's
2. Signal
3. HRE
this is some ghetthoooooo cars go to my website to see some real cars its http://www.fuck u.com