2000 Nissan Silvia Spec-R (S15) - When Lightning Strikes

There may well be a very good chance that Jum (the owner of this very car) was at one point or another struck by a bolt of lightning. There is no other explanation for his sudden decision to transform his S15 Silvia into something nobody has ever seen before. He entrusted his car to Lightning, a shop in Fuji City, which specializes in tuning the S-chassis, so you can understand the opening play on words. Jokes aside however, this is an extremely unique project and one that grabbed the attention of the tuning world at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. It’s the authenticity of the whole build that makes it stand out; after all, it’s not the first time a street car has been made to resemble a race car. But as Watanabe-san of Lightning explains, it was functionality that dictated the design of the body, and the results as you see here are nothing short of complete and utter sickness.

Jum has been enjoying his S15 at Fuji Speedway for years, driving the car every chance he has, perfecting his lines and times. Initially, the stock engine left plenty of room for improvement so it was there he decided to work on first. Lightning began working on the engine and as a first step, boosted power to a very adequate 430hp by bolting on a HKS GT2835 Pro turbine mounted on a high-flow Atrack exhaust manifold, which leads out to a full Kakimoto titanium exhaust system. A massive Trust intercooler was also added to cool the intake charge, which is directed via the hard piping kit towards the stock inlet plenum. To help the engine take the higher boost levels, a Tomei 1.5 mm metal head gasket was fitted as well as a necessary fuel system upgrade consisting of Tomei 740 cc/min injectors and a Tomei high-flow fuel pump. The potential for great mid-range torque delivery was taken advantage of thanks to the Tomei 270º camshafts, which, thanks to careful tuning of the Tomei Reytec ECU, allow for a very usable flat torque curve that peaks at 5,800 rpm with 398lb-ft. Transmission upgrades followed next with a Nismo 6-speed close-ratio gearbox to get the most of the performance out on track; it was also equipped with an OS Giken twin-plate clutch and a NISMO GT LSD for a driveline capable of supporting a lot more power in the future, which is precisely what Jum was looking to do before he realized that he could perfect the performance of his car in yet another way.

You see, Jum is an avid fan of Super GT races and has always been fascinated with the various cars that compete in the two different classes. What makes this race series so impressive from a technical point of view is the amazing times the cars can record even when they’re restricted on power. By using complex aerodynamics, cars competing in the GT500 and GT300 classes tend to carry more speed into corners and power out earlier, relying greatly on the downforce their carefully sculpted surfaces develop. It’s precisely this fascination that edged Jum to push the boundaries of body transformations, not with any old body kit out there but instead to find someone to develop an aero kit that would actually make proper use of the word “aero”.