UK-based race engineering Experts JRM are building 23 limited edition Nissan GT-RS as the ultimate race cars for the road.
BRITISH BEEF
Over the years many manufacturers have claimed their special edition performance cars to be true ‘race cars for the road’, but realistically, this has been little more than marketing speak. After all, a louder exhaust, stiffer springs and bucket seats hardly qualifies for a slot on a racing grid. But when we heard that renowned British engineering firm, JRM, was producing a limited edition Nissan GT-R to celebrate a decade working with the Japanese brand, and promoting it with the same tagline, our interested was piqued.
You see, JRM isn’t just any old company, the Daventry-based business has been at the forefront of motorsport for over a decade, including winning the GT1 World Drivers’ Championship in 2011 and finishing third in the 2012 World Endurance Championship. It’s also the brains and spanners behind the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. So, we were sure this would be much more than just an overambitious sales slogan.
Costing an eye-watering £380,000 each for the base model, the JRM GT23 is more extreme than any manufacturer special you could care to mention. Described as ‘the ultimate in performance’, only 23 examples will be produced.
What you get for your money is something akin to a full-on GT racer, only road legal. Under the huge vents that dominate the bonnet the 3.8-litre VR38DETT has been tuned to 650bhp and has been moved back considerably to improve weight distribution. The standard four-wheel drive system and dual clutch transmission is gone and has been replaced with a six-speed sequential system powering just the rear wheels. Along with a stripped interior and bespoke lightweight body panels, this has helped trim the GT-R’s stock kerb weight from 1750kg to the GT23’s featherweight 1275kg, giving the GT23 an incredible power to weight ratio of 500bhp per ton.
But if that’s not wild enough for some customers, there’s always the option to stump up an extra £59,995 and go for the Extreme Pack – and this is where things get really serious. The engine gets an extra 100bhp, increasing peak power to a whopping 750bhp, while the rest of the car gets hit with a host of hardcore racing upgrades such as a deep front splitter and canards, air jacks, a full FIA rollcage, a race fuel system, uprated springs and anti-roll bars and a set of lightweight wheels with centre-locking hubs.
The front and rear tracks of both the base GT23 and the Extreme Pack version are 90mm and 100mm wider than a standard NISMO road car, with double wishbone suspension featuring at all four corners too, which JRM claims will allow cornering forces of up to 2G when equipped with grippy racing slicks!
Currently available in eight exterior colourways, or with the ability to choose a custom colour of your choosing, the lucky buyers also get to work with JRM’s designers to further customise the functional cockpit, too, opening up a world of personalisation opportunities to make each car truly unique.
Aside from the car itself, owners will also have the option to indulge in an experience day on track with fellow GT23 owners where JRM technicians and engineers will set-up the GT23 so customers can really feel the car’s true capabilities. Sounds like a good deal to us. Now where did we put that Lottery ticket?
BRIEF SPEC
ENGINE 3.8-litre, VR38DETT
TRANSMISSION 6-speed sequential, rear-wheel drive
POWER 650bhp base model / 750bhp Extreme Pack
WEIGHT 1275kg
PRICE
From £380,000 base model
From £439,000 Extreme Pack
TOP NISSAN GT-R SPECIAL EDITIONS
TRACK PACK
The two-seat ‘Track Pack’ model focused on circuit performance and featured Rays alloys, a carbon front spoiler, NordRing and Bilstein-developed suspension, as well as leather and high-grip fabric seats. With the power of two R32s and a 2.8-second 0-to-62mph time, the Track Pack is a ferocious machine.
GT-R NISMO
With 592bhp and track-inspired modifications to the suspension, chassis and aero, the 2014 GT-R Nismo smashed the Nordschleife record with a time of 7:08.679. Post-purchase, buyers could opt for an additional N-Attack pack comprising all the components fitted to the record-breaking Nürburgring car.
NISSAN GT-R50
Built by Italdesign, this 710bhp beast was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the GT-R brand. With stretched headlights, 21in wheels, a lower roof height and a host of gold elements to highlight the gaping mouth and rear wing, the 990,000 Euro GTR-50 is certainly not for the shy.
