We’ve all seen one on the street. The R35 GT-R is nothing short of a true supercar, fusing blistering performance with an instantly recognizable shape. By no means does the car forsake visual impact for subtlety; it is probably the most in-your-face design to ever come out of Japan. So it’s quite interesting to see a company believe the R35 needs a bigger injection of aggression. As Uwabo-san of Abflug puts it, regarding this R35, “The idea was to create maximized impact.”
The Gallant project is a product of the collaboration between Abflug and European car specialist J.N. Hephaiss, who combined forces to create a new lineup of aesthetic parts for exotics. With Nissan having officially stepped into the supercar world, and with their desire to make a mark in the competitive tuning industry, something impossibly unique was needed—which is exactly what Abflug has always known how to do.
The gaping, sharklike opening created in the redesigned front bumper is probably the first impression this car will leave with most, but providing an uninterrupted flow of air to the radiator, oil cooler, and HKS trans cooler (nestled in the corners) is its main job. Carbon fiber is the material of choice for parts like the front lip spoiler, which guides air toward the front brakes much like the equivalent stock Spec V part does. Side skirts, too, are in carbon, but like everything else in the kit, are also available in FRP at a price drop. Finally, the pièce de résistance: the widened carbon rear fenders, which have been seamlessly integrated into the body, adding an extra 100 mm of girth to the already chunky R35’s rump. But it doesn’t end there; Abflug took inspiration from cars like the Audi R8 in creating a multitude of outlets where the fenders meet the bumper and on each side of the license plate. The louvered openings are mostly aesthetic but do help to extract some air from under the car, helped in part by the meshed opening around the exhausts and the prolonged diffuser fins.
The Gallant conversion is completed with a carbon-fiber rear spoiler, which fits onto the stock stays. Custom-designed wheels are the icing on the cake, forged in magnesium alloy for the ultimate balance between light weight and strength. The design looks like a pair of three-spoke wheels fused together, highlighted by the different painting of alternate spokes. The 9.5-inch wide, 20-inch front rims are shod in Yokohama Advan Sports 275-series, while the much wider 12-inchers in the rear get huge 315s.
Uwabo-san, wanting to boost performance, sought the help of tuning guru Kitabayashi-san at Pentroof in Tokyo—you’ll remember their 200-mph BNR34 Skyline GT-R from our Nov. ’10 issue. The idea here was to maximize the capabilities of the VR38 engine without going “overboard”. Kitabayashi’s handiwork can be seen in the custom hand-welded titanium exhaust system that connects up to the existing Power Craft cat-equipped centersection and front pipes, all giving increased flow while staying street courteous. A Greddy aluminum piping kit and blow-off valves brighten up the bay, managing boost provided by stock IHI turbochargers and wastegates, which are joined by faster-acting Pentroof actuators. An R35 limited-edition HKS EVC boost controller keeps boost stable and responsive throughout the rev range, while a custom-mapped Pentroof ECU maximizes throttle response and outright power. On the dyno, the Gallant GT-R topped at 630 hp at 6,300 rpm, with the torque curve peaking at 512 lb-ft at just under 6,000. We did mention that’s with stock turbos, right?