“.The Devil sends the beast with wrath because he knows the time is short. Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is.” (Iron Maiden, 1982)
666 26. If you’re a die-hard heavy metal fan (or Satan) I know what I just wrote is sacrilegious, but no, I’m not sorry. How dark can the prince of darkness really be anyway? I’m guessing he’s fairy-floss pink, daffodil yellow or a chocolate brown colour at the worst. If you ask me, that sounds quite pleasant and strangely delicious. You see, there’s something much darker out there and it makes the guy with the horns look like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. There’s no other way to describe it, Jay’s black on black R33 skyline is pure evil. So forget the number of the beast, if you’re looking for a number to fear, make it 26. That’s the number this Skyline will be wearing this year as it laps Queensland Raceway.
It only takes one look at the car to know it has been built for track work. A fat set of semi slicks, and a bumper packed with an intercooler, oil cooler and power steering cooler are dead giveaways. At the same time, however, the car is far from obnoxious. Imagine James Bond politely tapping you on the shoulder and informing you he is about to kick your ass. That’s what the styling of this car does. It tells you there’s power under the hood without being an ass about it. So how much power is there exactly? Try 401 real wheel horsepower on 1 bar of boost. It’s usable power too, which just happens to be a big part of Jays tuning philosophy. He has always said, “if you cant get the power down there’s no point in having it.” To that end, I was surprised when he told me his 255 wide Bridgestone RE55s could hold that much power in first gear when they were warm. Grip isn’t a problem through corners either with a firm set of Tein Flex coilovers (with pillow top mounts) and Cusco strut bars doing there part to maximise grip and help keep the car planted.
Of course, getting power down to the ground isn’t just about the tyres or suspension, driver skill is also crucial. Jay knows this and, by participating in Queensland Raceway’s sprint series, he’ll be sharpening his skills behind the wheel all year. He’s not afraid to admit that he’s competitive when it comes to racing and his ‘game-on’ attitude is reflected in the cars cockpit. It’s like the sparsely appointed quarters of an underpaid receptionist; there are no fancy decorations, only business furniture. Once again, Jay’s tuning philosophy is responsible for the lack of creature comforts. He says he has, “known about the benefits of reduced weight for a long time,” and has, “tried to gain more performance from weight reduction.” With that aim in mind, the boot contents, rear seats, rear shelf and sound deadener have all been deleted. Further weight saving was achieved via a carbon boot lid and set of lightweight O.Z Racing Chrono wheels.
Given the cars reduced weight and power level you might assume Jay was finished with his project, but you’d be wrong. He is confident that by years end he will be ready for even more performance upgrades. In fact, he has already planned to take the car off the road for six months as soon as 2009 comes around. Jay told me the second phase of modifications will include, “a full roll-cage, complete engine rebuild, OS Giken cross mission gear set, a sequential shifter, widened guards and more”. Rest assured, you’ll be seeing this car again when phase two is complete.
Behind Jay’s big plans lies a seed of inspiration. He looks up to drivers like Mark Berry and Russell Newman and what they have achieved. Mark and Russel recently took the Australian built Hi Octane Racing R32 GTR to Japan’s Tsukuba circuit for a time attack event. In an Australian first, they recorded a lap time of 59.6 seconds and placed in the top 20 out of a field of 60 competitors. For those of you unfamiliar with the famous Japanese circuit, rest assured, that is one seriously fast time. Although Jay won’t be heading to Tsukuba anytime soon he shares the ambitions of his idols; to put his driving to the test and push his car to the limit. Still, some say ambition is a dangerous thing and, I agree – someone should tell the prince of darkness to lock his door, #26 is on its way.
Gallery
