Are we just getting older or are resto-mods getting younger? For now it’s the turn of the 2007-onwards R35 Nissan GT-R – although arguably it’s more of a backdate than an update.
Britain’s Artisan Vehicle Design takes the R35 and rebodies it in a carbon (fibre)-copy of the R33 from the mid-Nineties. It’s front and rear where the retro look is most apparent, with rectangular headlamps, a straight front splitter, and a scooped hood. Move to the back and you get twin circular lamps in a bluff tail, together with a suitably large bi-plane wing. In profile you’ll note extended side skirts and JDM six-spoke alloy wheels.
Move inside, though, and the past is banished. Instead, there are swathes of Alcantara fabric and a huge central infotainment screen that wouldn’t look out of place in a Tesla. Carbon Recaro sports seats are fitted and there’s a surprisingly simple, deep-dished steering wheel, thickly wrapped in Alcantara. Exposed carbon fiber is generously applied throughout.
There’s nothing retro about the car’s drivetrain, with the 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V6 being offered in two tunes. First up is an 811 bhp Track specification, but if that’s not enough then Ultimate delivers 1,014 bhp on the nose. Understandably, cars with the Ultimate pack also get upgraded suspension, brakes, gearbox and exhaust systems. Although the London-based company hasn’t revealed any performance stats, it says that the carbon body panels “lower the kerb weight dramatically whilst increasing stiffness to deliver a totally new, enhanced experience.”
It will be summer 2024 before the first car is ready but orders are being taken now, with prices from around £370,000.
