Heading to the A-Bo-Moon R32-only drift day at Motorland Mikawa, I almost knew which blue 4-door R32 Skylines to expect to see in the pits. There has been so much coverage of the more prominent members of the team’s R32s that some of the other incredible cars belonging to their team mates are often denied their time in the limelight. The R32 that you see below was one of those cars that I had never expected to see, having never caught any glimpses of it during my trawls across the internet. Hopefully now, this car will receive a little more of the recognition that it definitely deserves.
The exterior looks a lot more complex than it actually is, which is one of the reasons I couldn’t get enough of this car. The R32 GT-R front bumper, bonnet, wings and lights are joined by a simple front lip, a pair of sideskirts and an aftermarket rear bumper. It’s the addition of the front splitter (held in place with additional bumper supports), aggressive canards and low-mount rear wing that really set this particular R32 apart from the rest, along with the vivid red highlights that contrast perfectly with the traditional A-Bo-Moon blue.
The front wheels looked to be Rays 57C6s, with the rears alternating between another pair of these and a pair of Rays 57Transcends. Judging by the slightly muted engine note compared to some of the other R32s present, it sounded like an RB25 had been fitted in favour of the original RB20.
This car is a perfect example of fantastic execution. On paper, this car shouldn’t work and, if you had shown me the spec list of a car built outside of Japan with these exterior modifications, I’d have probably conjured up a mental image of an R32 4-door in dire need of some visual help. But this is Japan, and the Japanese (generally speaking, at least) know how to get things just right. A little creativity, mixed with some care and attention and focus on an overall goal is all it takes to build a simple yet stunningly effective drift car.