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Writer's pictureVAD Admin
Nov 11, 20223 min read

SEMA 2022

So SEMA 2022 comes to a close and although we weren’t there in person this year we were as a brand, so let’s look at how we were represented this year.

If you’re into the Scene most people know that we work with our good friend Iby distributing his Speedwells Mk4 Supra wide body aero kit all over the world and this year we were approached by the Throtl boys and what a build that has been, Its seems that Rickie Fernandez was the crew member that brought the kit to the attention of the others for the SEMA build and we are so happy he did as the end result is mind blowing.

 
 

If you haven’t seen the Videos of this build we suggest you grab your favourite beverage sit down and enjoy the 4 week process of this Toyota Supra being turned into a modern day 1200BHP road and drag strip beauty with a throwback to the Fast & Furious world famous Supra and they did themselves proud, nothing was left out of this build and the levels of sponsorship was insane, you name it and the brands were lining up to supply the best goods the market has to offer, the added bonus is watching Micky, Ricky, Quinn & Will have the banter putting this car together, absolute professionals and such a joy to watch, guys you did us proud and we are so happy we got to watch how you went about this build, you built an absolute stunner.


Here is a quick link to the Supra build straight from their YouTube Channel

 

Another build to represent us was our good friend Faruk Kugay and his DevSpeed Porsche 997 GT3 R13 EJ Subaru powered GT3R, but this engine has had a fully tuning overhaul with its full custom exhaust system, BorgWarner turbocharger, Vibrant Performance intercooler, and a comprehensive fuel system upgrade courtesy of Deatschwerks and Nuke Performance, this gives a heathy 550 hp. Which is some 170 pounds less than the original Mezger 997 engine, all this in a RWD GT3 chassis mated to a Subaru gearbox, makes for a very lively package.

 

We love how this has all come together, the livery is sublime and the wheel choice of the Rotiform 917 Which is a modern take and such an iconic Porsche wheel design makes it a bit more special, we just love the nostalgic when old meets new vibe.

 

he last to fly the VAD flag at SEMA and the one that tugged on our heart strings mainly because it’s so deserved is our good Friend Chris Phan and his amazing GTR that has gone from paper vison to a full reality GTR GT3 Street car, Chris even drove his car from California to Vegas rather than the usual option of trailering, we love this guy and we just adore the build so much.

We have posted about Chris’s beautiful build a few times but for SEMA 2022 his GT3 had the most Beautiful wrap make over which JUST blew us away, gone was the Blue Motul Livery that always had our mouth-watering, replaced by the traditional red, black and white Motul Nismo race livery and it looks bloody sensational, gone are the gold L97 Forged centre locks and in their place a set of Yokohama Advan Racing TC4’S which have transformed the look of this car.

All 3 of these builds have been amazing to follow as well as supply our parts to and watch the builds come to life, even tho Chris built his 12 months ago it was like a fresh new build when he launched his newly wrapped GTR to the world, we are super proud to be associated with all of these epic show stoppers … roll on SEMA 2023


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Writer's pictureVAD Admin
Dec 22, 20213 min read

Nissan GTR GT3 Street

If there is one build we have been waiting for to be complete its this one, now finally we can talk all about this epic Build that our good friend Chris Phan has put together, especially now it’s been out an about for a while,

it’s time to play catch up and talk about this amazing build. To say the final reveal blew us away is an understatement, this GTR makes a serious statement for a road going GT3 Street builds and Chris has executed the plans for his build to absolute perfection, every time we seen this beauty on our daily media feeds we still have to convince ourselves this car is not a Nismo GTR GT3 that races in the Blancpain series, it’s a street build that resides in California.

 
 

It was around November, December 2019 when Chris first got in touch with us regarding his plans to update his utterly amazing Purple Varis kitted GTR, at first we thought he wasn’t serious as his GTR in that Varis disguise was absolute perfection, but I guess the lure of a wide body had bitten deep and I know from our early chats that he looked at the all new Silhouette LB Works kit was a serious thought and potentially the route he was looking to take, but we are happy to say Chris seen the light and as most wide body GTR builds stateside are either Rocket Bunny or Liberty Walk, which just makes your GTR look like every other GTR wide body in the states and Chris didn’t want to be the usual sheep and wanted something a little more unique, and let’s face it doesn’t get any more unique than a GT3 street build, as Chris said…it’s the pinnacle GTR.

With the kit manufactured and shipped off it wasn’t long before Chris took delivery and got on to planning the build, which came with a few headaches, we lived and breathed this build with him through the highs and lows and there were a few lows, but as with any wide body project you will always have moments of desperation, especially when you rely on others that are involved with the build process, good custom body shops are extremely hard to come by, but with the bodywork fitted and painted it was time to choose the livery and wheels of choice.

 
 

For the wheels Chris wanted the race look 6 spoke design, if they made them wide enough there would of only been one choice and that would be the Volk racing TE37, but unfortunately without all of the race spec suspension a 1 piece wheel just isn’t going to cut it on this conversion, so the LD97 wheels were chosen to be more specific the LDT6 with the added centre lock conversion for more aesthetic race look, and we must say they look absolutely incredible in the chosen gold colour that were actually repainted by BulletProof Coating, as the LD97 factory gold wasn’t quite to Chris’s liking, being a perfectionist and knowing every detail in a build is important and we think it shows with this GT3 Street build.

With the bodywork completed, next up was the Livery and this is where Chris threw us a curved ball as we always thought the GTR was going to stay white with the factory launch red, white and black GT3 livery, but Chris had other ideas and we are glad he did as the livery is next level, pulled off by the talented guys over at acd customsllc and they absolutely smashed it right out the park, this livery is just immense that has brought the vision and Photoshop creation to life, it really is a statement wrap and completes the overall build, it really does scream race car.

For now, the build is complete and Chris will not enjoy the car and hit the scene with various shows around California, but as with all project cars are they really ever done, im sure Chris will be titivating this GTR for months to come and we can’t really blame him, its one very special project that will look at home of the track as it will on the road, it’s a build we are immensely proud to be involved with and glad to have a guy like Chris in the VAD family.

 



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Writer's pictureVAD Admin
Sep 11, 20203 min read

Nissan GTR GT3 Street

We have built and collaborated with some pretty epic GTR’s over the last few years with our close friend Jan and his VAD CarbonZilla a real favorite, but this GTR also holds a very special place in our heart, as it was the very first GTR to wear our GT3 wide body aero pack for the street, we also connected with the owner at the time Bryce Jenkins and we are still good friends to this day.


For reasons we will not get in to, it never really got the exposure we were hoping for, even after the incredible photo and video shoot Brandon did from Woyshnis Media it still never quite hit the sweet spot, that was possibly due to the fact that as soon as the car was finished Bryce got stationed over in Afghanistan, so he never got the chance to enjoy or promote his GTR GT3 creation as he was away for the best part of 12 months, so it lost an incredible amount of exposure in that time period, but whilst Bryce was away it was put in the hands of Destin from Dapper Dips who transformed the car from white to the incredibly stunning Black rose metallic the GTR is current caressed with, and from what Destin has told us Pictures do not do the paint colour or finish any justice.

 
 

Destin finished the car the back end of 2018 and by the time Bryce had returned home the GTR was sold, it resurfaced again briefly when Dylan owned the car, but it had very little if any social media presence or exposure, although Dylan did link up with Mark Vecellio on a photoshoot that produced some pretty amazing pictures, but unfortunately this beautiful GTR just hasn’t been seen since its completion ...well that was until Edward Andrade got his hands on it, and to say this guy is on it is an understatement.


Over the last few months since it’s been in Edwards hands the car has had a lot more exposure and we have the feeling it only going to get better as Edward puts his own mark on this GTR and we must say it’s great to see the car on our media feeds which seems to be on a daily basis and after taking to Edward he is already looking at upgrading certain areas of the car, with the first upgrade looking like it will be in the form of a rear wing set up, a set up like what Bryce wanted but unfortunately never got around to it and it desperately needs one.

Over the last week we have seen some pretty epic photos of Edward’s beauty filtering through our Instagram feed and with some investigation we found the extremely silky lens skills belonged to Kevin from Luxecapture, who wasted no time in sharing his amazing work.


 

Now we have seen some pretty good photography over the years so it takes something very special to get our attention and Luxecapture did exactly that, with some incredible pictures from all the angles that capture every part that has been fitted to the car and that’s the reason we like this images so much, Kevin has shot the car but the parts pop, for example the rear diffuser and the end I have never really seen on any other picture taken of this car, but with Kevin’s photography you notice those parts and it’s all those little details that create the perfect picture, his collection of photos of the Ichiban GT3 are the best we have seen to date, they are simply breathtaking.


With the rear wing decided on it would be fantastic to see the vented GT3 Vented hood on the up and coming modifications as this is another detail that would complete the ultimate street GT3 GTR, along with the double canard set up that is no longer on the front end, all being well they should find their way back onto the car for that ultimate race car look.


Keep putting in the work Edward, as we are certainly happy to have you onboard in the VAD family and if the final pieces of the GT3 conversion make their way onto the build, we hope Luxecapture is on hand.


GTR Owner @drean_zilla // Photographer @luxecapture web: https://luxecapture.wixsite.com/automotive



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