Are you into GT-Rs? A fan of Japan’s golden era of car tuning? If so, you should be very familiar with the name Garage Saurus, a legendary Japanese tuner synonymous with fast Skylines, big horsepower numbers, and drag racing.
Hayashi-san and his team spent the best part of two decades pushing RB26 tuning to the extreme, and Garage Saurus was one of the first Japanese shops to dip into the 8-second ET zone with a GT-R. They’ve never looked back, and to this day are still pursuing RB performance out of their new shop in Saitama.
Garage Saurus may have shifted away from the quarter mile and dabbled in time attack, but their vast knowhow has allowed them to build some of the most potent street GT-Rs in Japan. And now Canada, too.
This R34 was shipped in from Vancouver just in time for last weekend’s R’s Meeting, and it took pride of place on the Garage Saurus display.
One glance at the engine and it becomes instantly obvious that there’s serious performance to back the aggressive exterior profile. The RB26, which features a generously-sized Borg Warner EFR series turbo and surely a forged bottom end, was built in Japan by Hayashi-san. After completion, he shipped it off to Canada and then flew out there to install it and the sequential transmission it’s now mated to.
The reason for the GT-R being shipped to Japan was not just for R’s Meeting; the owner is having Hayashi-san finish up a few minor details and then get the car legal and road registered. After that, the owner plans to drive it on legendary roads and race tracks in Japan, for what I can only imagine will be the trip of a lifetime for any gear-head.
It wasn’t until I started processing images for this story that I noticed the British Columbia plate on the back of the Skyline.
To go along with the copious amounts of additional carbon fiber that adorns the front of the GT-R, there’s a big Voltex GT wing out back to keep downforce as well as aesthetics balanced.
I really hope to see this R34 out at Tatsumi PA or on the Wangan some night soon. It would be cool to have a chat to the owner and see if we can maybe feature it, as it’s obviously one very clean and well-executed build.
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com
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Why did drag racing in japan come to an end? Or am i missing something
All the drag strips got closed down a few years ago
But why? Not generating enough profit or some government restriction?
Well it was only the one, Sendai Hiland. They still do it, but mostly on the straight at Central circuit, it's just lost popularity as most people aren't into it any more.
"...lost popularity as most aren't into it anymore."
Is that because optimized street cars like Evos and STis began dominating sales?
This puzzles me a bit. Are people there still staging illegal street drag events?
Got it, interesting, thanks!
OH CANADA!!....Great feature on a Canadian car!!....Thanks for sharing!!....
The owners IG is @cw_unit
Would love to see a full in-depth feature!
The guy smuggles heroin into Canada, just another criminal.
Yeah it's a cool car with an even cooler story
Yes! This is the car I was talking about Dino, thanks for sharing!
Owner: Charles Wong
thank you dino!! ill see you when i am back in nov!!!
Always cool when you see someone involved pop into the comments section!
For sure Charles! Hit me up
Thanks Dino beautiful combination all round would be a wild animal on the street. The exterior is perfect, aggressive but not over the top. I'm interested to know the engine specs are.
So the owner now shipped the car back to its homeland for good, or is it just temporary?
There are very few cars I would give up my FD3S for. NSX, GTR32, GTR34... I like the R35 but not as much fun to drive as the others, but its fast. Thats a nicely modded one. Love that blue. Love the cars around it. Would love to see more.
Your car looks absolute BEAST!! Love it.
That cover shot is so good I immediately made it my wallpaper. Very nice!