When the Nissan GT-R bowed in 2007, the industry was stunned at how nonchalant it was about breaking the laws of physics: posting jaw-dropping acceleration from 0-60 mph in just 2.7 seconds and completely shattering the production car Nurburgring lap record at the time. Over the course of 10 model years, Nissan continued to refine and improve upon its halo car. What’s more, the R35 GT-R that was initially claimed “untunable” has also become the ultimate canvas for serious tuners.
California-based high-end Japanese tuning parts distributor Bulletproof Automotive is one such tuner that dared to push the envelope of what’s possible for the GT-R. For Bulletproof and its founder Ben Schaffer, the vision was to create a super-lightweight GT-R that still retained a premium, exotic feel. Inspired by the wild supercars created by the brilliant Horacio Pagani, the Bulletproof GT-R pursued balance over outright power by shedding weight from the GT-R via a fully bare dry-carbon build.
YouTube channel GTChannel shared a new video on Wednesday, featuring Schaffer and the extreme Bulletproof GT-R. In total, the intensive regimen replaces virtually all panels with the Full Overtake dry-carbon body kit, which replaces the front and rear bumpers, hood and trunk, fenders and quarter-panels, side skirts, doors, mirrors, A-pillars, and diffuser with dry carbon parts. The GT wing is a dry-carbon Esprit 052-W WTAC, while miscellaneous exterior trims and aero bits including canards are finished in dry carbon as well. Finally, Bulletproof also opted for lexan windows. All told, the mods allow the GT-R to shed approximately 500 pounds versus stock.
Inside, Bulletproof still wanted to keep a full interior, but create an even more special experience when behind the wheel—virtually every plastic piece found in the GT-R was replaced with carbon fiber. The seats were replaced with a pair of carbon buckets by Recaro and the interior was also reupholstered in Alcantara for that Italian exotic touch.
Power and weight became the focus under the hood as well. Engine internals and transmission remained untouched as reliability and performance was equally important for Bulletproof. Weight reduction in the engine include titanium intake pipes and Powerhouse Amuse Titan Saikou titanium intake manifold, as well as Amuse 100-V Saikou titanium exhaust, GReddy Spec-R intercooler kit, GReddy Type RZ blow-off valve, GReddy RX throttle body, AQ Motorsports intake, JUN coolant expansion tank, Do-Luck DTM II G-sensor and torque sensor.
Wheels and suspension continue to reinforce the theme of weight and balance. A set of Carbon Revolution CF-9 Wheels wrapped in Nitto NT01 tires (F: 285/35ZR20 R: 315/30ZR20 staggered setup). Next, the suspension was developed by Overtake and features Sachs Three-Way Dampers, which can also be found in the GT-R from the Nismo GT team. While the R35 calipers appear to be OEM, the two-piece carbon ceramic rotors look stunning behind the carbon wheels.
Despite the extensive development done on the Bulletproof GT-R, Ben Schaffer isn’t done yet. “With a project like this, it’s never actually finished,” Shaffer explained. “There’s always more to do. Until the car is floating in the air, there’s still more weight to be taken off.
“And whatever else we can do to make the car better at what it does, we’ll gonna keep going until there’s nothing left to do – and that day will probably never come.”
