When we asked how much the Infiniti cost to build, the guys at HLM just laughed. So you know they pulled out all the stops when they went at this car. And when we took our first look at the G35GT, we knew it wasn't the typical racecar we feature between the pages of 2nr.
The most radical mods to this fully built racecar aren't immediately noticeable to the untrained eye. While it may look like a car you might see cruising the streets, this is a fully tube-framed and composite-bodied track terror.
Every body panel has been replaced with custom carbon-fiber panels. Everything from the front bumper to the rear spoiler. Which means it's as close to a stock G35 as a stock Monte Carlo is to its NASCAR race car brethren that circles the oval tracks of the Deep South on Sundays. Right away, it's obvious this is an expensive toy.
Crawford Race Cars, LTD built the custom chassis and composite body per Rolex Grand Am rules for the Prep 2 Semi-Tube GT class. There are exceedingly strict rules in the Rolex series, and for good reason. The idea is to make the cars as equally matched as possible-making the racing exciting. Building a body to conform to these rules was no easy feat.
"The rules state that the car must maintain its recognizable shape as a production car, with stock headlight and taillight covers, stock mirrors and door handles" says Howard. To ensure their body panels and chassis would pass tech, HLM put their trust in the folks at Crawford to turn some steel, fabric and dope into one sick race car. The finished product looks so much like a production G35 that from 20 feet away it could pass as a streetcar. The only thing that looks like it couldn't have been on a production car is the huge rear wing-which is a Rolex Series-spec piece that all cars in the Prep 2 class use.
It took Crawford close to 9 months to transform a 2006 G35 into this GT35. Since it's a race car, a lot of the specs are "top secret," so much of the technical details of the car remain a mystery. Even basic things like horsepower and weight are under wraps. What we do know is that the car is no longer rocking its stock 6-cyliner engine. Alternative engines are allowed in the GT35's class, as long as they are from the original manufacturer and approved by the racing body. Being the shrew businessmen they are, HLM took full advantage of the loophole.