Fall/Winter tends to be the best time to get shots like this due to the clean air...
Happy New Year to all of you reading this.
2025 was a very busy year for me, and honestly I feel bad about not having much content to post about these days. There are a few more projects I have in mind for the 33, but as you all know with Nissan having its problems and my job there being instrumental in helping to turn the business around, there was not much time for play.
Having no Nismo Festival last year also did not help. That, and in addition to not much free time for simply driving the car around, I am also worried about the lack of spare parts (just like most owners) and so want to keep the mileage minimal until I can feel comfortable drving the 33 around normally, again.
But in making some new friends mainly through my additional work at Nissan Motorsports & Customization (NISMO/Autech company), at the end of the year I DID go for a group drive to Hakone. It was cold, tires did not grip, but it was nice to just go for a drive and hang out with like minded car guys.
I will let the photos speak for themselves - and note the copyrights belong to the people in the group who were kind enough to allow me to use these photos. Enjoy!
Getting up early to beat the traffic...
I'm not much into R35s, but damn that is one nice machine!
Yep, this is our group. Right before the tollgate.
These guys too - and Proof of dawn
Miyata-san's Z31 looks mean. Because it is!!
Right before the pedal hit the metal...
Took a short break mid-way up...
Then at the top...
Yes, the local Mazda guys were there too!
The Alfa was one of our guys. Not all Nissan guys drive only Nissans! Really interesting stuff on that car.
Stopping to let someone catch up
Final stop for me (wasn't feeling great and wanted to go home early)
...but not before I join the other car nerds to marvel at how Miyata-san squeezed in an RB26 into his Z31!
Was I the fastest? Certainly not. But this car is just so raw and pure compared to what I have been driving lately. SO communicative and honest. I was grinning the entire time I was driving it. A pointed reminder that I need to do this more often!
I mean, just listen that engine and exhaust sound!
At this year's R's Festival, I had the honor of taking a photo with Kozo Watanabe, who was the Chief Vehicle Engineer that oversaw the development of the R33 GT-R and the R34 GT-R.
Much like Kazutoshi Mizuno for the R35 GT-R, and Naganori Ito for the BNR32, Watanabe-san is a true engineer who worked his way up at Prince Motors and Nissan. Watanabe-san in particular, in addition to being the chief engineer for the R33 and R34, also worked on the Pulsar and the C110 Skyline and was also the Chief Experimental Engineer of the R32 under Ito-san. Both Ito-san and Watanabe-san were mentored by Shinichiro Sakurai, who is acknowledged as the father of the Skyline. Further Mizuno-san worked on the R34 project under Watanabe-san and took over the BNR34 program when Watanabe-san retired from Nissan in 2000 and went to head Nismo, overseeing its racing program!
Watanabe-san had probably the toughest job ever - how to make a heavier and longer car go FASTER than the race champion R32 GT-R! And as we know, he succeeded so well that most of the running gear engineering on the 33 was carried over to the 34!
So you see, THESE guys are the ones who should be getting accolades as well as the nickname of the "Father of the GT-R" - as they truly were. Unfortunately there is at least one guy running around now who is over stating his involvement in each of the programs, whereas his true talent seems to be in the area of self-promotion. Caveat Emptor!
So... if you find yourself at any of these GT-R related events, and happen to run into Ito-san or Watanabe-san... well now you know who actually to ask the question - "Why didn't Nissan have a Nurburgring lap time for the BNR34?"
So, if you haven't seen the social media and press coverage by now, last Sunday (Sept 23) from 0700-0930, Nissan unveiled to the Japanese public, at the Daikanyama T-SiteMorning Cruise (think, Cars and Coffee) near Shibuya in Tokyo, their handmade one-off R35 made in conjunction with Italdesign, the GTR50!
Of course, I am writing here because I was lucky enough to be invited by people at Nissan to display my R33 GT-R at the event. Obviously word went out to the R35 owners, who showed up en masse, but of course no GT-R event is complete without the historic models there as well.
Obviously, Nissan agreed because they brought along their KenMary GT-R Racing Concept as well as the R33 GT-R LM homologation street car!
Wow. Just WOW.
Anyway, this invite is why I stayed up late the days before working on various things (coming in future posts!), and how I discovered how my brake lights weren't working. Luckily as you read in the previous post the guys at Nissan Prince Tokyo Motorsports Factory quickly fixed the problem, but for a few minutes I was worried that I might not be able to make it to this event!
"My kind of Taxi" is how Dino described this...
So the day started early for me - even though the event itself began at 0700, Dan Passe from Nissan had told me that the Nissan crew would be there at 0600 setting up. In addition, my buddy Dino had asked me to pick him up at Haneda airport at 0530 as he would be flying back from doing a press event for the new Nissan Altima. Hence the photo above. As we pulled into the Daikanyama T-Site parking lot at 0620, we were initially rebuffed but when told I was invited to display, quickly ushered in and told where to park. As we pulled in, I knew it was going to be interesting because there were about 5 people taking photos as we pulled in. Minor celebrity status? LOL. There was already a crowd forming around the GTR50, so I took a quick look - it's an interesting looking car and much better looking in person than in photos. Kind of like me! Lol.
Dino doing his stuff
Fitted luggage!
I was actually working on some fitted items for my car trunk as well (but the entire system got thrown out by Nakamura at WORX!!) but I will have to redo it in the near future.
I quickly got bored, as most cars there were R35 GT-Rs. There were some interesting cars, like an original Sylvia and Fairlady, even some old American muscle, but then I spotted this:
People starting to check out my car...
I ended up answering some questions about my car, and then I met two guys who knew who I was - one guy from Switzerland (Joel) and one guy from Germany (Amin). Both students, hope they have a great time in Japan!
Then the guy who ended up parking next to me in his r32, Mischa, was someone who Dino knew and who pulled into the parking lot JUST as the Nissan guys were looking for a BNR32. So as you can see he parked next to me. Mischa and I quickly checked out each others' rides - his car sports an engine made by Top Secret, and of course mine has the Mine's unit.
And yes, that is a REAL Hakosuka GT-R there too...(another random addition that morning!)
Obviously Mischa takes much better photos than me - I think I was generally distracted...
Incidentally, Mischa took many more photos and put them up on the "Tokyo Drivers Club" Facebook page, if you are interested.
I also met a couple of other like minded R33 GT-R owners - Ken and Tomocchio (Japanese guy but Italian at heart?). Ken has a Series 3/Kohki like mine, but in "standard" form. Tomo, now this guy had a Series 1/Zenki, mostly standard as well, but what he did was VERY interesting.
Blue on the left side...
And red on the right side...
Tomo explained that "red is for passion, but blue is for cool" or words to that effect. Have to give him credit for originality, although if I recall correctly some race cars used to have different (red/blue) colored wheel lug nuts (single mount) for left and right side.
Anyway, come 0930, I had to go so Dino and I got back in and left. Tomo was nice enough to send me these photos:
Dino's elbow there...
Followed out by Mischa
And again as we left a bunch of people (like the guy on the left there, crouching) was taking photos as our cars were leaving.
Of course, most people were there to check out the GTR50, but I am glad that I was able to meet some other R33 fans as well as some others I haven't mentioned. You know who you are!
So taking a break from the Interior Modernization project - I have to publish my Speedhunters article first before continuing here - sorry everyone but thanks for understanding. As a preview however, I will mention that, the Speedhunters article will be about my visit to pick up my car from Worx Autoalarm after the leather dashboard had been installed, along with some optional extras! And my excuse for the delay is that I was waiting for Dino, who had come along with me, to share the photos he had taken because frankly, I am barely competent with a camera.
Anyway - I was lucky enough to be offered a Guest Pass (and an A Paddock Parking pass - right up with the race drivers and Nissan execs) to attend this year's NISMO Festival which took place last Sunday, so naturally I decided to go. While I took a lot of photos, what I'm posting here of course relate mainly to the Skyline R33. Dino was there in his professional capacity (check out his Speedhunters article here for a more comprehensive look at the Festival), and my friend Alessandro, who owns but really doesn't drive his 34 GT-R, was also there and posted his impressions and some good photos on his blog.
Because there are so many photos, I've split this post into two parts, in chronological order following my day - Part 1 will be arrival until lunch, and then Part 2 from after lunch until the end. Which, if you read Dino's article, you know it took us 6 hours after leaving to get home...
Anyway we started the day early - I woke up at 0500 and picked up Dino, figuring he'd have a few tricks to share - I don't like crowds and I don't like traffic, so I was hoping by traveling with him I could avoid those. I also figured he could make some key introductions for future GT-R projects.
Note the A Paddock parking pass in the front windshield.
We arrived at Fuji Speedway at 0720, and were waived through by the security guards. We then made our way up to the parking lot closest to the main Pit Building (Pit Building A) and promptly parked in the front row. As I was parking, we saw pro racers Motoyama, Hoshino, Krumm, Matsuda, Quintarelli, and others all arrive in their personal cars. All Nissans of course, with Krumm in his R35. Obviously, I was parking with the greats...
As we then made our way to the main pit area, we ran across many of the vendors setting up for the day - at Nismo Festival famous and not so famous vendors set up their wares, usually selling items at fairly hefty discounts. Some of the items include cars! Dino and I killed some time chatting with Nakayama-san at Mine's, as well as a few other people at these shops.
This was not for sale, but it sure did attract attention.
These used BCNR33 parts WERE for sale...
90,000 yen for a beat up Nismo dual blade carbon spoiler. I passed.
For those of us into model cars...
Yokohama Tires, showing off their tire and wheel range. Next to HKS...
The Cockpit Wako cars, and in the back the main Pit Building
We started peeking into the various pits in the Pit Building and the drooling started...
Oh wow! The prototype KenMeri Racer that never got a chance to race!
And two legends right here! The original Hakosuka race cars!!
No crowds! Sneak peak of these awesome R33 machines...
No people! Sneak people of the inside of the Nismo Heritage Parts display tent (more on that later)
The gates opened to the public at 0800, so about 10 minutes before then we headed upstairs in the main pit building, where all of the conference and meeting rooms are located.
I have no idea why my iPhone reversed the photo, but this is what I was given to wear around all day.
But even this Guest Pass didn't give me access to everything. The Press Room, for instance, was off limits to me...
So Dino and I went our separate ways.
But the Guest Room was open to me.
I found my way to the Guest Room and walked in, unsure what to expect. After checking my ID and signing in, I was lead to a very nice table.
Very cool. Reserved tables (for me) are always nice!
And the staff came running over, so naturally I asked for a coffee, black.
Trackside seats!
Some diehard fans in the bleachers already. Too cold for me!
Just as I started sipping my coffee, I realized there was some activity on the track. The first cars had starting warming up on the track.
After enjoying a few biscuits with my coffee, I heard a commotion outside on the parking lot side, so went to take a look.
Oh right. It's 0800. That means gates are open to the public, and those who have been waiting patiently (even some from the day before!) are now rushing in to try to grab bargains from the vendors!
It was just about then that Dino texted me that he was on the move; so we headed downstairs to check out the action.
The view from the second floor - you can just make out my Lexus.
Somehow Dino convinced me to hang outside the pits trackside - Bonus points for anyone who can spot me in his Speedhunters article photos.
R31 and Z goodness. Check out Dino trying to get the perfect shot.
Dino kept making his way down the pit but we then turned around and wandered outside, first stopping by the GT-R Magazine booth.
All 5 generations on display here!
And then I spotted something to make any boy happy.
It's JDM Lightning McQueen!
I think it was about this point where I realized it wasn't a GT-R...
But who cares! Well done!
I think it was about this time Alessandro met up with us, having patiently waited outside with the other paying ticket folks. Because I wanted to check out the 33 machines, we headed back to the pits and found them being checked before their track runs later in the day.
While this isn't a video of the 33 machines, this is the kind of noise (music?) we experienced when checking out the pits.
Without Dino, Alessandro and I then wandered over to the exit gate to the track, curious to see what kind of machines were being driven back in.
You can just make out the lead R35 GTR Pace car
Holy smokes! Two beautiful 400Rs!!!
And just like that, off they go back to their special parking lot...
As Alessandro and I walked back towards the Pit Building, he found something familiar...
This BCNR33 with NISMO striping.
Readers of his blog will recall this post from his visit to last year's NISMO Festival where he spotted the same car. To be honest though, the car wasn't in good shape. Sure, it may have the NISMO R1 crate engine, but without looking under the bonnet it's hard to tell. But the carbon bonnet itself did not look well taken care of, and I'm not a fan of those LED lights in the front bumper...maybe some day I'll meet the owner and we can swap notes. In any case, he seems to be more addicted to NISMO parts than even me.
Speaking of NISMO, we then walked over to the tent which was showcasing NISMO's new Heritage Parts Collection.
The intercooler isn't new, but those brake lines and period correct R32 GTR brake calipers are!
New fuel tank too.
NISMO also had several parts on the walls of the tent "being considered." I guess we will see whether or not NISMO makes them. NISMO also had all of their Clubman Sports cars on display, as well as a new package they are now offering early model R35 owners, to bring their cars up to the latest specs.
We found Dino and then followed him back to the pits where we also found these cars again.
Ready to go!
Almost forgot about this one!
Finally, it was time to meet up with my hosts who had invited me to the event, so I parted with Dino and Alessandro and made my way back to the Guest Room, where I had a free lunch and drinks waiting for me.
Of course, Japanese bento lunches
After a quick meet and greet, we decided to hold off on lunch and walk over to the other side of the track to the Event Area to check out what NISMO was offering for sale to the public. This meant crossing UNDER the main track, but it was a nice 10 minute walk.
This tent grabbed my attention first.
Inside they were selling various NISMO parts at a small (10-15%) discount.
Discounted and tempted but my wallet and bank say otherwise
I have one of these somewhere... gotta find it.
Interesting - I forgot to ask why Nismo was selling Tomei Powered parts... (likely used in one of their engines)
But this wasn't what I was expecting, so I walked outside looking for where all the other parts might be sold. And across the way, I saw:
But I was likely too late. All the good stuff gone. Here is the line for the BNR32/BCNR33/BNR34 related parts.
Disappointed but secretly relieved I would not torture my finances, my host and I continued to wander around.
Very cool - the 390 Race car!
My host however was trying to find some Nismo Festival limited edition model cars, and so I lost him, but I did see that some model cars were on sale.
Hey I just saw the real thing in the pits!
This one too!
Ok that's expensive.... 30,000 yen for a model? I have parts I want for my actual car...
This being a Nissan/NISMO event, Nissan was also taking advantage to show off some of their cars.
New Nissan LEAF. Uh, no gas engine there sir.
Red Nissan Serena with their ProPilot technology (I wonder if it could be retrofitted to my GT-R...)
NISMO Note. I'm actually curious about this - would it be significantly better to drive versus the regular Nissan Note?
That's more like it. Although the design getting a bit old...
Finally, my host reappeared with his hard won limited edition model cars, and we walked back to the Guest Room for a bento lunch.
Quite beautiful bottom layer, with assortment of chicken, vegetables and fish
Top layer had two different kinds of rice dishes and some tempura
And right as I finished lunch and was checking to the schedule to see what was happening in the afternoon, I run into THIS guy:
With Hiroshi Tamura
In any case, an eventful morning. The afternoon would prove to be just as excited, stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon...
