Japanese tuning house Garage Active brought a show-stopping Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 to SEMA, treated to a carbon-fiber reimagining from top to bottom. It’s an excellent demonstration of just how special a GT-R can be if you’ve got seven figures to throw at a build.
The car is the brainchild of Garage Active owner Kazushige Sakamoto, with photographer extraordinaire Larry Chen giving us the lowdown on YouTube. It was built to showcase the company’s work in carbon fiber body panels for the R32 GT-R. The hood, trunk, and side skirts are all carbon, as you’d expect. That’s not all though, as even the doors, A-pillars, roof, and bumpers all get the composite treatment, too.
Sakamoto explains that a full kit costs roughly $100,000 before labor and installation costs. However, Garage Active often handles entire builds in-house for eager customers.
Unlike a stock Skyline GT-R, this car doesn’t feature an RB26 engine under the hood. Instead, it’s got a built RB30 under the hood from HKS, with a massive Garrett turbo to boot. The RB30 block, as seen in the R31 Skyline and Holden VL Commodore, is often used by engine builders seeking more displacement without the hassle and risk of boring out an RB26. Just the HKS long block alone is worth about $80,000, before taking into account parts like the turbo, exhaust, and engine management system.
According to Sakamoto, it’s running “low boost” of 27 psi, and puts out “just” 930 horsepower. It’s running an OS Giken OS88 six-speed sequential gearbox to put the power to the ground. Rated to handle up to 1,500 horsepower, the list price of the transmission exceeds $13,000.
The car is finished in a delicate coat of Midnight Purple III paint. Midnight Purple was first offered as a paint color on the R33 model, with Midnight Purple II and III being delivered on the R34. The latter is the rarest of all, with only 132 R34 GT-Rs featuring the color from the factory.
The deep purple finish reveals rich orange tones when displayed in the sun. To apply it to the carbon, eight layers of clear coat were laid down first. Midnight Purple III was laid down in a very light finish to avoid covering the carbon weave, and then a further four to five coats of clear were added on top.
Attention to detail is key in this build. Wherever possible, the carbon weave lines up across panels, even between the interior parcel shelf and the trunk lid outside. Even the seatbelts have been given the Midnight Purple treatment to match the exterior.
Bringing the car to SEMA was no minor thing, either. Reportedly, it cost Sakamoto $70,000 to fly his car from Japan to Las Vegas for the show—and that’s just one way. It’s actually the second full-carbon R32 GT-R Garage Active has brought to SEMA, with the first car debuting last year featuring many of the same body kit pieces.
Last year’s car attracted offers around $1 million, with this year’s car going even further in terms of overall finish and performance. Given the work involved and the cost of the components going into the build, it’s easy to see why the Garage Active R32 is considered a seven-figure car.
The interior has been fully trimmed in Alcantara, replacing the stock leather. The rear seats have been stripped out to suit the car’s performance intent. There’s also a full roll cage inside, too. This should offer some protection if Sakamoto lives out his dream of drag racing the car in the U.S.
With this build, Garage Active has delivered one of the greatest R32 GT-Rs out there. The gorgeous aesthetic is complemented by the weight-saving benefits of carbon fiber, and it’s paired with serious performance from the HKS engine package. There’s nothing that fits SEMA better than exquisite craftsmanship paired with big horsepower, and Sakamoto’s GT-R delivers both in spades.
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