Automotive

Spoiler alert: This 1,600-horsepower GT-R has a lot of spoilers

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Franco Scribante Racing's 1600-horsepower Nissan GT-R will not be lacking in downforce
Franco Scribante Racing
The steering wheel and dash
Franco Scribante Racing
We're loving the burnout button
Franco Scribante Racing
How's that for a set of diffusers?
Franco Scribante Racing
The rear wing is gargantuan
Franco Scribante Racing
Stacked front aero design is a new one for us
Franco Scribante Racing
Built in preparation for this week's Jaguar Simola Hillclimb
Franco Scribante Racing
Franco Scribante Racing's 1600-horsepower Nissan GT-R will not be lacking in downforce
Franco Scribante Racing
The motor has been lightly tickled from a stock 562 hp up to somewhere around 1,600 hp
Franco Scribante Racing
Grinder sparks!
Franco Scribante Racing
Quite a setup on the front there
Franco Scribante Racing
View gallery - 10 images

Is it a snow plow? Did it just crash into the back of two other cars stacked on top of one another? No, it's a specially prepared hillclimb racer that makes so much power that every bit of downforce counts. Meet Franco Scribante Racing's ridiculous-looking Nissan GT-R, featuring three wings bigger than the one on your Civic.

Spoilers get a bit of a bad rap on road cars these days. Aston Martin, for example, has invented a complex air blade system that channels air through the car's body and fires it upwards, just because it thought a spoiler would look a bit naff. They're not wrong, really, because you need to go quite fast to generate enough downforce to make them effective. So on road cars they're either a lairy fashion statement, or an indication that the driver hangs it all out big time on the road.

They're mighty handy on race cars, though, that actually go fast enough to make them effective and genuinely need the extra grip. And both of these apply to our subject today. Franco Scribante Racing is preparing to go run the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb that begins in a couple of days in South Africa, and the team has built an eye-popping monster of a car with its eyes on the prize.

Built in preparation for this week's Jaguar Simola Hillclimb
Franco Scribante Racing

Top Gear is reporting that this Nissan GT-R has been roided-out with a little over a thousand more horsepower than it started with, for a total around 1,600 hp. So it should boogie a little bit. But in the name of downforce, the team has slapped on a truly ludicrous set of wings.

At the front, there's a huge, ground-hugging splitter. Stacked above it, another wing that'd look too big on the back of a Le Mans car. At the rear, a colossal double-decker box of a thing. All three are carbon, with giant side plates, and the rear aspect is rounded out by a Darth Vaderesque set of diffusers that put even the hilarious Alieno Arcanum to shame.

How's that for a set of diffusers?
Franco Scribante Racing

We're no aerodynamicists, but we'd estimate that this thing could drive upside down at walking pace in a light breeze. Enjoy a bunch of pics in the gallery.

Source: Franco Scribante Racing via Top Gear

View gallery - 10 images
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4 comments
Jay Gatto
Such a good looker they had to blow the lights?
Buzzclick
This is ridiculously insane and way over the top, but if it does well at the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb this week I'll take back what I've said. I just hope the driver can see where he's going, and go fast enough to make these foils useful.
paul314
So as long as they stay glued to the pavement they're fine, but one downforce-losing bump and the handling becomes exponentially more interesting.
Nobody
Flip the spoilers over and just fly up the mountain. Don't forget the rudder.