Change calls for adaptation – it’s the way of the world and thinking that can be applied on pretty much anything. It’s what tuners have to do all the time. Sure, you can make yourself known as a specialist in a particular brand or even type of engine, but things aren’t always going to stay the same. Which is why Sugino-san at Endless – despite continuing to focus the bulk of his work on RB26-powered cars – couldn’t possibly ignore the last evolution of the GT-R: the mighty san-go.
Like you would have seen in my recent Endless shop visit, the Hyogo-ken garage was predominately filled with older generations GT-Rs. But sitting outside was a car that instantly caught my eye. I remembered seeing the R35 being put through its paces at the GT-R Meeting in Fuji Speedway a year back, so it was definitely one something I wanted to quickly check out before I moved onto my main shoot for the day: the 1170hp Drag-R BNR32 I showed you last week.
The Endless GT-R serves as the perfect example of what can be achieved once you take full advantage of the VR38’s ‘initial’ potential. I say initial because as we all know, the real potential of the R35 is directly proportional to how deep your pockets are – something US tuners know a thing or two about. However, 1500hp-plus drag cars aren’t what most people are trying to create with their modern Rs.
For the majority of owners who head down the tuning route, it’s about getting the most out of what is already there – a sort of first step that involves removing all of the restrictions from the hand-built VR38. And that’s exactly what Endless have done with their demo car. First up was the replacement of the ugly silicone induction hoses and cast aluminium piping with a full hard pipe kit – something that also replaces the stock air boxes with a pair of pod filters located deep into the bumper so they can be fed fresh aid directly from the grill. Seeing the car is on its way to getting bigger turbos, the Endless mechanics also fitted a GReddy intake plenum – a three-piece item that is designed to efficiently supply a larger volume of air into each of the six cylinders.
While these modifications are considered pretty simple and only unleash another 60 or so horses from the GT-R, there are plenty of cool touches around the engine bay, like the aluminium Endless oil catch can that sits at the front of the twin turbo V6.
Seeing that RH9 garages collaborate a lot with each other, it wasn’t surprising to see the Top Secret radiator overflow tank replacing the seriously out of place ugly plastic thing that Nissan fits to the car from stock. It’s a simple yet nice addition.
Like on most R35s there isn’t much to do in the interior as it’s already a very nice place. The seats may get replaced with buckets eventually, but to spice up the rest of the cabin carbon fiber details were added on the transmission tunnel and vent bezels. To top it off there’s an RH9 leather/carbon steering wheel.
Finishing things is an Endless titanium exhaust, which we saw hanging in the shop during the tour. Not only does this system make all the right sort of noises, but it releases back pressure so the VR can dump spent exhaust gasses with little restriction.
The perfect R35 street car? Quite possibly…
Dino Dalle Carbonare
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dino@speedhunters.com