Home » Uncategorized » The Incredible Nardo Killer: The Ben Sopra Nissan “Nardo Special 380SX”

The Incredible Nardo Killer: The Ben Sopra Nissan “Nardo Special 380SX”

18 January, 2013

What you see above is a monster, a villain, an assassin that kills with the quiet and stealth of a crashing freight train. It used to be a Nissan 180SX, but now only the canopy and taillights really resemble the original. This is the “Nardo Special 380SX”, built by Japanese legendary Ben Sopra. Located in Kyoto and ran by Kazunori Ueta, Ben Sopra made news last year when they-along with Trust (GReddy’s parent company)- built the Greddy 35 RX GTR, and won Best in Show. That’s no small feat.

Jump to this year’s show: Speed Hunters expected big things, and big things they got. Again partnering with Trust, they came back with this: a Nissan 180SX with a full R35 GTR drive-train underneath. That’s why the hood is so tall: to fit the motor and its new, custom intake manifolds. Why custom manifolds? Because this motor is stroked to 4.0L, and with the bigger turbos it now makes 1100hp. I’m no moon scientist, but I bet the power-to-weight is on par with any hyper car you can find.

The wide-body kit is stretched around it like a wetsuit on Dwayne Johnon. The wing is big enough to break dance on, and the exhaust is just straight pipes. Loud, rough-looking, crazy. It might look like another cobbled-together show car, but this car is actually being built for a high-speed shootout at the Nardo Ring. Option Magazine has invited Ben Sopra, Top Secret, and Phoenix Power to see who can get closest to 400Km/h (248MPH). This car definitely has the power, but I hope they get the body battened down a bit tighter (this was put on the morning of the photo shoot, on zero sleep) before they head on track.

Assuming they will, hearing this thing scream around that track would be a sight to behold. This looks like a 180SX Hulk, swelling and growing, about to burst out of its clothes. I love it.

Please jump over to SpeedHunters to see the full post on this car. They go to the coolest events, and have some of the best photography online. There’s over 30 excellent pictures of this car. Even the parts on this car are beautiful(check out the fuel cell). And for those of you with ADD, it’s mostly pics, with just a little caption for each picture. It’s a flip-book with a scroll wheel. Check it out at SpeedHunters.

Source: Speed Hunters

japan nissan tuners

Chris7opher

"(this was put on the morning of the photo shoot, on zero sleep) before they head on track."

Probably one of the worst things I would want to hear before going for a 400kmh attempt at Nardo. This is completely insane by the way and it will be interesting to see if they crack 400 with the drag of the rear wing. Hard to speculate if they will actually achieve the desired number.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say they don't crack 400kmh, so if I'm wrong have your tomatoes ready to throw. What a crazy build though. It would be cool to do something like this but retain a relatively stock body. What a sleeper that would be!

Cool post!
ropeburn

wow, click through to speedhunters for more pics, amazing car.
Daniel

isit just me or do those brakes not look up to the job…