Cliff Clayson has taken the legendary FD, sprinkled a pinch of insanity, a touch of passion and built his version of the ultimate tuned FD RX-7.

Feature taken from Banzai magazine. Words and Photos: Troy Barker

It’s fair to say that Cliff Clayson has a passion for both rotary engines and the art of drifting. So, it’s something of a no-brainer to combine to two, right? True, there may be easier options to build, and arguably more reliable cars for the sport itself (insert stereotypical ‘rotaries like to lunch themselves’ joke here), but that didn’t stop this guy achieving the clear vision that was set out in his mind. He wanted to take an FD RX-7 and make it the ultimate drift weapon, so with a pinch of insanity and a ton of passion, that’s exactly what he did. And here it is for all to see.

It all started for Cliff when he was 16-years old. A good friend of his put him in touch with a crash repairer that had a RX-4 coupe for sale. It wasn’t in the best of shape, it had a smashed front end, but it seemed solid underneath. So Cliff handed over 2-grand (this is prior to them being worth a small fortune) and proceeded straight to his grandma’s house with a chain block in an attempt to straighten out the front end with the assistance of a lightpole. “I threw on a new bonnet on that I picked up from the wreckers, poured some coolant in the radiator and turned the key – it fired right up. The 13B brapped so hard I instantly fell in love.”

Since then Cliff has owned a stack of RX’s but it was his previous FC RX-7 that got him started with drifting. It started as a street car and ended up being a full blown track star which he competed all over Australia with. But Cliff always had his heart set on an FD RX-7 as his ultimate competition car. So, in 2009, he purchased a rolling shell and put the plan into motion.

The first stage was planning the project with the help of Revs Performance Rotary, where together they outlined a basic build in stages. The first was to take the car to Walker Chassis where a full strut-to-strut cage was installed. Next in-line was an Origin Stylish widebody conversion and a coat of Mazda Royal Blue, inspired by the Japanese team ‘Drift Magician’. Finally came the engine build, which consisted of a 13B bridgeport running a single Garrett GT3582B and an Albins dogbox. This was the setup from 2014 until 2018 which received a good beating and destroyed many tyres in the process.

Everything ramped up last year though, chiefly due to Cliff’s sponsor, Dorijunkie, getting in contact about the BN Sports BLS kit that had just been unveiled at the Toyko Auto Salon. “After seeing this kit, I knew I needed it on my car. The aggressive styling suits not just my taste, but my driving style too!” That said, the kit turned out to be so extreme that they knew it was going to be tough to find a colour to set it off. Still, with the help of Scott’s Custom Tint and Vinyl, they found a new Avery Dennison vinyl called Roaring Thunder. This colour-shifting hue matches the over-the-top styling of the kit perfectly. To make the sponsor logos stand out too, they went for a chrome finish to match the lips on the huge TE37V wheels. They also fitted some yellow acrylic windows – a rather striking look to say the least.

While the kit was on order, Cliff decided that the driveline and suspension was due an upgrade too. Revs Performance and Extreme Rotaries helped transform the engine and installed a TTi 6 speed sequential gearbox. Garage7 crammed in a new Borgwarner 8374EFR turbo, a new engine management system (a Link Thunder G4+) was ordered, and the car was completely rewired to suit.

Behind that monstrous engine sits a billet twin plate clutch to help transfer the power though the sequential box. This spins a custom single-piece tail shaft into the Cusco MZ two-way LSD. The standard diff housing is strengthened by a laser-cut brace, which holds the front and the rear together to prevent the crown wheel and pinion “cracking apart like an egg”. This overall setup resulted in a 520whp – weapons-grade by anyone’s standards!

So there’s plenty of power now, but Cliff still needed the right parts to help put it down on the track.“We sourced a WiseFab steering kit which is well known for having extreme lock – up to 80 degrees of steering angle in fact. This was then coupled with a set of Wisteria DG5 coilovers which are purpose built for drifting.” Some Project Mu slotted 313mm discs, coupled with Lexus LS400 4 pot calipers, help slow things down when required. And some forged Volk 11.5×18-inch TE37V’s sit in the rear arches, with 9×17-inch forged Tech Corp wheels up front. “The whole setup is super responsive and creates a huge amount of mechanical grip and steering lock. All perfect for what I need.” Cliff says.

The cockpit is just as bright as the rest of the car with the interior being a blend of OEM Mazda and pure racecar. The standard FD dash has been retained and blended with a host of Angry Panda carbon fibre fascia and bezel panels. The compact AIM Strata dash, with its LCD display, shows all of the data from the Link ECU, and under all this sits an Autosport pedal kit with brake bias and remote reservoirs in the engine bay. The billet gear stick is made by Surefab in New Zealand and the bucket seats and harnesses are from Vello.

From start to finish it’s been a long build and Cliff assures us that this is the final version. “The car has taken me well over 10-years to put together and there has been a steep learning curve to determine what parts worked and what didn’t. Thankfully having some incredible sponsors on board has made the journey so much better and the parts knowledge and expertise has been invaluable in the process. I’m glad the journey has gone this way as I have learnt so much about the car from the development process.”

The first big event with the recent upgrades was World Time Attack. With the help of Dorijunkie, BN Sports and Valino Tyres Cliff was able to bring over the famous Japanese driver ‘Drift Samurai’. “We had so much fun at the event! World Time Attack is the premier annual motorsport event in Australia and it brings the largest gathering of international drift celebrities. It was an incredible experience, the trip of a lifetime.”

Cliff’s passion and eccentric tastes have shown through in the final form of his build. From the insane kit to the crazy colour scheme, every aspect of this car screams ‘look at me’ and, nowadays at least, that’s never easy in the competitive drift scene. But then again, this is so much more than a bonkers drift car. This is Cliff’s very own version of the ultimate tuned FD RX-7. And, we’re pretty sure that it’s ours too!

Tech Spec: Tuned FD RX-7

Engine:

REVS Performance Rotary spec engine –  CNC cut extend port with Semi Peripheral Port Rotor housings, 12mm Stud kit, slotted rotors, CNC’d Baths & CNC Lightened Rotors, 3mm seals, modified oil galleries, isotropic coated crank, balanced & blueprinted rotating assembly all by Xtreme Rotaries, PTS unbreakable Racing apex seals, South Coast Rotaries corner seals, Borgwarner 9280 EFR Turbo with 1.45 S/S Rear Housing V- band Garage7 spec 4-inch exhaust straight through, custom braided turbo oil feed lines, Garage7 spec custom tuned, match ported exhaust manifold with knife edged internals, Turbosmart Power-Gate 60mm external wastegate with braided lines, Garage 7 Bosch E-Throttle with Nicon Rotary billet adaptor, CX Racing USA Semi-PP Lower intake manifold flowed out & match ported, Revs spec S6 match ported upper inlet manifold, REVS spec modified oil injection (I Pre-mix AT Racing castor oil with my E85 100:1 ratio), 6x Injector Dynamics primary injectors & secondary injectors 1700cc, twin Carter in tank fuel pumps with Twin Bosch 044 to engine, Injector Dynamics F750 fuel injection filter, Turbosmart FPR 2000 fuel pressure regulator, Hypertune V-Mount intercooler with N-flow Koyo radiator (REDLINE water wetter added to the coolant), Mezire Billet water pump, custom Intercooler piping with wiggins quick release clamps, Acrylic diffuser plate between the intercooler and radiator, CX Racing USA twin oil cooler setup with 11-inch thermo fans, Autocraft solid engine mounts, GReddy radiator pressure bottle, GReddy racing energy 1.3bar radiator cap, LINK Thunder ECU with Racepak smart wire kit, BOSCH ignition LS7 Truck coil modules x4, 10mm silicon HP leads, NGK Racing spark plugs, GReddy Oil catch can, Xtreme Rotaries Side mount alternator kit, K&N Super Power air filter, Direct Clutches billet twin plate clutch, Quartermaster Hydraulic push pull kit, TTi Industries 6 speed sequential dog box, Vulcan modified solid gearbox mounts, Cusco Type MZ mechanical 2-way LSD, Samberg custom diff – cradle brace, Knight Sports gear set

Power:

600hp (at the wheels)

Chassis:

9×17-inch Tech Corp wheels with 245/35×17 Valino Pergea 08R tyres (front), 11.5×18 Volk TE37V forged alloy rims with, 265/35×18 Valino Pergea 08R tyres (rear), DG5 coilovers with Swift springs front & rear, WiseFab extra-lock kit, Cusco front strut brace, Racing Beat front lower chassis brace and front & rear sway bars, Super*Now sway bar mount, Whiteline double rose jointed sway bar links, Autocraft rear toe arms, Megan Racing MRS-MZ rear cower control arms, Super*Now rear cradle pineapples, Project Mu slotted 313mm discs (front) with Lexus LS400 4 Piston monoblock calipers, EBC reds (front) Project Mu (rear) brake pads, Goodridge steel brake lines

Exterior:

BN Sport BLS Luxury Sports 9 piece body kit, 130mm wide over fenders front and rear, BN Sports Vented BLS bonnet with front filter vent, rear heat vents, front splitter and side step diffusers and BN Sport Swan neck GT wing (plus duck tail wing for competition), Avery Dennison Supreme ‘Rolling thunder’ Wrap, Sard roof diffusers, acrylic side & rear windows, Garage7 CrystalTail lights with LED globes, custom front and rear bash bars with jacking points

Interior:

Velo custom bucket seat with OMP seat rails (driver & passenger), Vertexdeep dish steering wheel, VELO 6 point harnesses, UK Made pedal box with bias valve kit with remote reservoirs, Odyssey GENII dry cell battery (mounted in S/S battery box under dash, Do-Luck gauge pod, DEFI gauges, AiM Strada stack dash, Angry Panda carbon fibre dash set with facia, carbon passenger foot well bucket, acrylic clear foot well pates, Walker Chassis 6 point roll cage, AM ladder bar and roof bars, Surefab billet shifter, MS systems gearknob, Autosport hydraulic hand brake, dual fire extinguishers,  Astra TRW power steering pump, Armtech hybrid battery isolator, all interior removed, all sound deadener removed, air con and heater removed

Finished in a stunning matt wrap, covered in carbon and with a phenomenal supercharged V10 under its bonnet, this E63 BMW M6 is pure modified BMW perfection.

Feature taken from Performance BMW. Words: Elizabeth de Latour. Photos: Rich Pearce.

Prior to making the switch to turbo power, BMW’s M engineers went to great lengths to craft some of the finest NA engines around. Even when others around them were moving to forced induction in the pursuit of power, BMW remained true to its motorsport roots, favouring high-revving engines that would deliver the sort of experience that its loyal customers wanted, expected and craved. While there have been numerous incredible M engines over the years, the magnum opus of BMW’s M division is generally considered to be the S85. BMW M has produced many sixes and a couple of V8s over the years, but there was only ever one V10 and what an engine it was: inspired by BMW’s previous involvement in F1, delivering 507hp at 7750rpm and with a redline of 8250rpm it was something truly special. Naturally, when the 6 Series returned in the mid-2000s in E63 form after a long hiatus and the M6 followed suit, it inherited the M5’s mighty V10 and this duo will always have a place in BMW M history thanks to that incredible engine. It takes a special kind of person, then, to come along and decide that while BMW did a pretty good job making one of the world’s greatest-ever road-going NA V10s, what they’d really like to do is slap a supercharger on it. Andy Hook is one such person, but we can’t be mad at him because good as the vanilla S85 might be, spice it up with some forced induction and it is instantly transformed into something truly astonishing.

Before we can explore this supercharged BMW M6 in-depth, we need to talk to Andy because we need to find out what sort of person decides that 507hp isn’t enough and a supercharger must be applied to their V10. “I’ve been interested in all things BMW for the last 30-plus years,” Andy begins with a smile. “My interest started around the age of 14-15 when my step-dad (who was a definite Ford man), changed to a Spanish red E21 323i. I was fascinated by how different the car was to his previous Fords and definitely impressed by the build quality and performance. That car got me hooked on the brand,” he grins. “My first BMW was a 1985 ‘chromie’ E30 318i. I searched for the right car for a while, then this particular one turned up very close to home. It was owned by two school teachers who were emigrating to New Zealand. The car was in immaculate condition, with very low mileage and had a full BMW service history. I absolutely loved this car, but sadly it was written off in a non-fault accident a couple of years later,” which is sad to hear but that taste was enough to get Andy hooked on BMs, and hooked he most definitely is as he’s also currently got an E30 Touring in his garage alongside his M6, along with an F10 M5…

When it came to the M6 it was a chance encounter that set things in motion for Andy; “I saw an E63 M6 driving on the motorway in 2005. The driver dropped down a couple of gears to overtake and the sound of the V10 was intoxicating. I decided there and then to make it my mission to find and own an M6,” he grins. “My car was for sale at a high-end dealer, not far from me. It was part exchanged for something much more exotic. It was in excellent condition, with low mileage and ticked all the boxes. A deal was struck and a week later the car was safely on my driveway,” and so the journey began. Now Andy is no stranger to modifying, which boded well for his latest acquisition; “I’m proud to report that I’ve never left a car standard,” he chuckles, but even so he didn’t have any plans for the M6, to begin with. “I like to get a feel for my cars before I modify them,” he explains, which is very sensible and completely understandable, especially with a car like the M6, and when he eventually did get the modding ball rolling things started nice and gently.

Andy’s first step was to fit a pair of BMC panel filters to aid the V10’s breathing and he paired those with a remap, which was enough to take power up to around the 535hp-mark, so that’s a decent gain to start with. Next came suspension, and with EDC on board not everyone wants to go for a coilover setup that would get rid of that and, ultimately, drivability also comes into it. “I decided on H&R 30mm lowering springs only. I just wanted to make the car lower, but not ridiculously low. I live close to the countryside, so have lots of single-track roads and potholes to avoid. I didn’t want to make the car undriveable,” explains Andy and that makes perfect sense. The H&R springs do a great job of deleting all that excess arch gap and getting the car sitting so much lower and looking so much better, but without sacrificing any of its drivability. With those lows freshly applied, Andy took a look at his M6 and decided that while it is undoubtedly a good-looking machine, it needed a little something extra and the obvious choice was to slap some sexy carbon on there, especially as the M6 came with that gorgeous carbon roof. An aggressive front splitter was added, which fills out that front bumper perfectly, and it was paired with a boot spoiler and that combo was enough to make a significant contribution to enhancing the looks and giving this M6 that added aggression it was crying out for.

With things coming together on the looks front, Andy now turned his attention to the wheels and started hunting for something a little more aggressive than the stock 19s; “I knew I wanted black wheels and spent a fair bit of time researching them. In the end, I went with the Avant Garde M359s in 20”,” he says and that was an excellent choice for the M6. The E9x M3 Competition-inspired look is a timeless one that suits all BMs equally well and the AGs look great on the M6: they fill out the arches with purpose, 20s hit the size sweet spot, and in black they just look so mean. The meanest thing about the whole car, however, is without a doubt that awesome wrap, which just looks sensational and gives this car’s appearance another dimension. “When I had the car wrapped just over three years ago I originally wanted to go with Nardo grey, as it was a very popular colour at the time,” Andy explains. “However, when I arrived at Totally Dynamic they’d just wrapped a Ferrari FF in Avery Matt Metallic Charcoal. The Ferrari looked absolutely stunning; I changed my mind on the spot and am so glad that I did. My intention was to make the car look a bit more aggressive and I think this colour achieves that,” he says and that’s putting it mildly. The matt metallic finish is epic and looks so good on the car, and combined with the black and carbon elements it all comes together so well. And speaking of carbon, Andy wasn’t done yet and decided to add the final finishing fibre touches in the shape of a pair of side blades to add some extra flair to the car’s flanks, and an aggressive carbon diffuser, which really enhances the rear-end appeal of this M6.

The interior, meanwhile, has been covered in acres of lush carbon trim, there’s a set of carbon pedal covers, and then there’s the small matter of that bright blue roll-cage that takes up the whole of the rear portion of the cabin… “After seeing an M4 GTS when they were released, I knew I wanted a roll-cage and rear seat delete,” says Andy. “There was only one man for the job: Shaun at Gosling Racing. Shaun created the custom cage (there’s not much call for an E63 M6 cage) and rear seat delete within two weeks. The quality of his work is amazing and he did a fantastic job of the rear seat delete,” he says. It’s very unusual to see a cage in a car like the M6, but it looks awesome, the blue adds a flash of colour, and the trimmed rear panels demonstrate the level of attention to detail that’s been applied by Gosling Racing.

At this point Andy had put together one exceedingly sexy M6 that looked absolutely sensational thanks to that gorgeous wrap and that selection of carbon additions, and the performance mods he’d carried out had given it a healthy boost in power, all of which combined to create an M6 that any of us would have been happy to own. Andy was happy, unsurprisingly, but of course, we who love modification are always searching for the next hit, the next high and we’re always looking for something to take our cars to the next level. The problem is that when you’ve already got a 5.0-litre V10 under the bonnet there’s not much you can do unless it involves going a little bit crazy and we already know that’s exactly what Andy did…

Making the decision to supercharge a car is not a small one that is taken lightly and it’s a huge step. First of all the S85, like almost all M engines, suffers from rod bearing wear and so Andy had the bearings changed and upgraded to ensure that the engine was ready for what was about to happen, and then it was time to pick a supercharger kit. Unsurprisingly there aren’t that many options out there for the V10 and the ones that deliver the most bang for your buck all come from ESS so it was just a case of choosing what power level Andy fancied. His options were the 635, the 660 or the 675hp kit and he’s clearly a guy who doesn’t believe in half measures as he made a beeline straight for the full-fat 675 offering. Running a Vortech V-3 Si supercharger, using an intake manifold with integrated chargecooler, and equipped with 10 high-flow Bosch Motorsport fuel injectors it’s a formidable setup that takes power from the sublime to the downright obscene and takes the S85 to another level. To help keep intake temperatures lower still and increase power further the kit has been paired with a Devil’s Own methanol injection setup, a primary de-cat has been carried out to eliminate the major restriction in the exhaust system and it’s joined by a Supersprint X-pipe and an Eisenmann Race exhaust, the combination of which also has the very welcome side effect of seriously enhancing that intoxicating V10 soundtrack. The result of that array of heavy-duty performance upgrades is a breathtaking 700hp, which is a monster amount of power and it’s no surprise to learn that the supercharger is Andy’s favourite mod on the whole car. “It’s added a new dimension to the car and improves the performance, but retains the V10 sound,” he says, grinning the grin of a man who owns a supercharged V10.

We don’t see many supercharged V10s around, which makes each one of them that much more special and we’ll never stop getting overly excited whenever we come across one of these epic powerhouses. Andy’s M6 is a seriously sexy build and it ticks every box imaginable – you’ve got carbon, you’ve got that neck-snapping wrap, the little details here and there, and then, of course, you’ve got that supercharger pumping out 700hp, the cherry on top of the icing on top of the most delicious cake imaginable. Despite being such an awesome build already, Andy’s far from finished; for starters, he’s added a P3 vent-mounted boost gauge since the shoot and there’s an awful lot more to come: “Like all project cars, there’s always something else to do. Now that the show season is over, during the winter I’ll be adding BMW Performance seats, four-point harnesses, an interior re-trim in Alcantara with custom blue stitching, Bilstein B16 Damptronic coilovers and some serious stopping power with AP brakes,” he says and that selection of upgrades will really make this M6 a force to be reckoned with. Andy has already decided on his next car, an F90 M5, so what’s going to happen to the M6? “The M6 won’t be going anywhere as I’ll be trading my F10 M5,” he smiles and that says it all. Factory turbocharged V8? Ten a penny. Supercharged V10? Now that is something special.

Tech Spec: Supercharged BMW M6

Engine and Transmission

5.0-litre V10 S85B50, uprated bearings, ESS VT2-675 supercharger kit, Devil’s Own methanol injection kit, primary de-cat, Supersprint X-
pipe, Eisenmann Race exhaust. SMG III seven-speed gearbox

Power

700hp

Chassis

9×20” ET20 (front) and 10.5×20” ET25 (rear) Avant Garde M359 wheels with 255/35 (front) and 295/30 (rear) Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres, PSDesigns titanium stud kit, H&R lowering springs

Exterior

Avery Matt Metallic Charcoal wrap, carbon fibre front splitter, side blades, rear spoiler and rear diffuser, carbon roundels, black M6 badge

Interior

Blue custom half roll-cage, rear seat delete in Alcantara, M4 GTS fire extinguisher and mount, carbon fibre trim, tweeter covers, steering wheel trim, window switches and pedal covers

The 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon had its doors blown off by the outrageous Silhouette Works Liberty Walk ER34. This stunning creation takes the company right back to its old-school tuner roots…

Feature taken from Banzai magazine. Words: Dan Bevis. Photos: Liberty Walk.

There’s a pleasing circularity to the thinking behind this car. Inspired by and paying tribute to a 1980s race series, which in turn influenced a culture of extreme modification of road cars, ultimately turning full-circle and resulting in what you see before you: a retro tribute to its own roots – at once gloriously old-school, and incredibly cutting-edge.

The genesis of all this may require a little unpicking, so let’s start back in 1979. A Super Silhouette Formula was conceived in Japan; a race series conforming to the FIA’s Group 5 regulations, whereby the scope of modifications was so hilariously broad that all bets were off – as long as the car in question’s body shape vaguely resembled that of its road-going counterpart (hence ‘silhouette’), teams had free rein when it came to suspension, brakes, aero, the lot. Provided that the engine used the same block as its showroom siblings, any form of mods would be allowed. This race series proved popular and it ran until 1983 in Japan, with the Fuji Speedway as its spiritual home. And for a lot of gnarly race fans from back in the day, the archetypal icon of the Super Silhouette Formula was Masahiro Hasemi’s KDR30 Skyline. This car campaigned in the 1982 and ’83 seasons, its iconic red-over-black Tomica livery slathered over a super-aggressive body that transformed the ‘Iron Mask’ Skyline from road weapon to track hero. This was an incredible machine – what looked like an R30 RS-Turbo with a cartoonishly wide and low bodykit hid the guts of a formula racer; it had 16-inch wheels at the front and 19-inch ones at the rear, and under the bonnet was an L20ZB engine – a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, fitted with a twin-cam head and a TD05 turbo and then cranked up to an insane 570bhp. The KDR30 took a couple of race wins in 1982, and five more in 1983, winning countless hearts in the process.

Its influence stretched way beyond the racetrack too. It is certainly no secret that the fledgling bosozoku and gurachan movements in the 1980s were heavily influenced by these outrageous Group 5 race cars; the extraordinary jutting splitters and spoilers we’ve come to know and love on the most out-there boso builds take their cues directly from the Super Silhouette Formula. Indeed, it’s this uncompromising street style that was instrumental in the development and gestation of tuner brands like Liberty Walk. This company’s irrepressible founder, Wataru Kato, is a true innovator. He’s the kind of man who’ll buy a Ferrari F40, then buy another one so that he can modify it; nothing is taboo in the world of Liberty Walk – if it’s cool, it’s cool, and no car is untouchable. This unerring and ineffable passion is fed by the performance cars and racers of the 1970s and ’80s, the cars that first sparked his passion for modding and tuning. If you take a look at the Liberty Walk website today, you’ll see their latest widebody offerings for the likes of the Lamborghini Aventador, Nissan GT-R, Toyota GT86, BMW i8, Ferrari 458… fast modern cars amped up to brutal extremes. But Kato-san always wears his influence on his sleeve, always keep his roots front-of-mind. So when it came time to develop a show-stopper for the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon, he decided to take things back… way, way back.

LB-ER34

What’s particularly ingenious about the Liberty Walk ER34 is that it fuses the classic and the modern (or, at least, modern-classic) in fine style. Kato-san is no stranger to applying the Liberty Walk mojo to bona fide classics – thoughts of his kaido racer Fairlady and Kenmeri GT-R still keep us up at night – but here the idea was to take the ethos of the original KDR30 and apply it to a more modern ER34 Skyline. Pretty cool, eh?

Now, you’ll notice that we’re talking about an ER34 Skyline here rather than an R34; without getting too bogged down in the minutiae of model codes, the baseline here is that he didn’t want to cut up an R34 GT-R for this project. And while many people may assume that ‘ER34’ automatically means ‘four-door’, that’s not always the case: in this instance, we’re talking about a two-door GT-T – the model that encapsulated much of the spirit of the GT-R, but toned down slightly with a single-turbo RB25 and a RWD layout. The body transformation really is quite remarkable too – much like the KDR30 had to look a bit like the R30s in the showrooms, so Kato-san’s fresh creation is still recognisably an R34-gen model… it’s just several orders of magnitude more insane. The colossal box arches house 11×18-inch Yokohama Advan Racing GT wheels on Advan slicks, with custom hub extenders to get them sitting out even further. The front spoiler is frankly ludicrous; obviously there would be no way to register this car for the road in Japan anyway, but if there was one sole element that’d kibosh the idea it’s this aggressive ankle-slicer. Even more deranged stuff is happening round the back – those squared off arch extensions are joined by a towering spoiler, and the bulk of the view is dominated by an enormous custom diffuser. The Group 5 DNA is strong with this one, it’s dripping retro race menace from every pore. And of course it’s all been slathered in that iconic Tomica red-and-black livery, here sneakily updated to replace the principal sponsor logos with Liberty Walk’s own.

Owing to the complexity of fitting the comprehensive body makeover, this Silhouette Works isn’t something that the company will be selling to customers. It may be possible to commission Liberty Walk to build one for you if you have a Skyline for them to chop up, but there’s no indication that this concept will really be anything more than a one-off… which is entirely correct, when you consider the point of the car. Kato-san didn’t envisage a unit-shifter here, this isn’t a revenue-generation project. No, this is a respectful tribute to the origins of his own automotive passion, reworked to reflect the modern reality of where these dreams have taken him. And there’s no more vivid element of the car to demonstrate this than what greets you when you open the bonnet. There isn’t an RB under there, like most people would probably expect. In fact, you’re looking at an L28. This is the one feature that really knocked everyone for six at the Tokyo Auto Salon. You see, the L Series is legendary in classic Nissan/Datsun tuning circles. That iconic Tomica KDR30 ran a four-pot L20, while the L28 was a straight-six that could be found in models such as the 280ZX Turbo, Laurel, Cedric, Gloria, and even the DOME Zero concept. Furthermore, L Series engines became iconic in Japanese motorsport and back-street tuning, and it’s this culture Kato-san sought to emulate. He’s got form here, as his celebrated Kenmeri build runs a hot L28 and, much like that car, this one is no ordinary 2.8-litre six. It’s been stroked out to 3.1-litres, and treated to hot cams and a ported and polished head, while fuelling is taken care of by a trio of 50mm twin-choke Solex carbs. The induction noise is something else, although it’s beautifully and sonorously eclipsed by the barks and yelps crackling from the custom side-exit exhaust system. These are noises hitherto never heard coming from a 1990s Skyline.

There are myriad nods to the underground tuning scene, as you’d hope from a man so deeply entrenched within it for so many years. The Vitaloni wing mirrors are a cheeky addition, something you’d more usually find on full-bore bosozoku builds (or, indeed, Lamborghini Miuras), and the boso theme continues with the addition of a set of tuneful air horns. They play the Mickey Mouse theme, because screw convention, and screw anybody who questions it. All of which adds to the car’s mystique: it’s half tuner special, half race car. Look inside and you’ll find that it’s been fully stripped and painted gloss black, the eerie inky void treated to a splash of colour thanks to the lipstick-red Bride seats and citrus-hued Cusco rollcage. And when Kato-san flicks the switch and the suspension airs out, there’s a beautiful juxtaposition between the killer stance as the body kisses the asphalt, and the out-and-out racer details – the aero fins that run along the top of the wings, the extravagantly vented bonnet, that almighty rear spoiler, it’s all such a riot of detail.

The word is that Liberty Walk will be developing this skewed logic into a whole line-up of Silhouette Works designs: R35 GT-Rs, Ferrari 458s, Lamborghini Huracáns, cars that are generations too new to have ever graced a Group 5 grid, but with fresh Liberty Walk bodykits which sidestep the traditional overt bolt-on aesthetic for a smoother, more aerodynamic and more race-influenced vibe. But however far that train of thought travels, the gatekeeper of it all is this: the LB-ER34. A car that keenly demonstrates how influences run full-circle. It’s a modern-era Liberty Walk build that can’t take its loving eyes off the past. If it were possible for Wataru Kato to be reincarnated as a car, it would be this one… which makes it all the more pleasing that it stole the show at TAS – Kato-san may have set out to build a crowd-pleaser, but at heart he was building this car for himself. A fond tribute to his roots, and a reminder for every one of us of where all this tuning mayhem started.

Tech Spec: Liberty walk ER34

Engine:

2.8-litre L28 straight-six – stroked to 3.1-litres, ported and polished head, high-lift cams, triple twin-choke 50mm Solex carbs, stock exhaust manifold into custom unsilenced side-exit system

Chassis:

11×18-inch Yokohama Advan Racing GT wheels, custom hub extenders, Advan slicks, custom air suspension

Interior:

Stripped and painted gloss black, Cusco bolt-in rollcage, Bride Low Max seats, Momo deep-dish steering wheel, custom centre gauge cluster

Exterior:

Custom Liberty Walk Silhouette Works bodykit, diffuser, spoilers and fins, retro tribute KDR30 Tomica/Liberty Walk livery, Vitaloni mirrors, bosozoku air horns