Nissan Armada GTR- Not for Soccer Mom

You’re in trouble when you invite Brian Stupski from Problem Child Kustoms Studio to dinner. Brian’s used to designing super high-end custom hot rods and concept cars for SEMA, which is all great, but when you ask him for help with your own projects, he doesn’t know when to throttle back. “Brian, I don’t have an extra $200k!” It’s great to dream though! Look what he does when I cut him loose on something near and dear to me. The Nissan Armada.

Brian also helped with a blog I wrote for Nissan. I was trying to win a trip to the Lake Tahoe, NV press event for the GTR. You might have read about it in EVERY magazine! I could have driven the GTR on a track. Too bad, my story didn’t win, even with this AMAZING illustration.

Here’s a snippet of the Nissan Blog I wrote. I was trying to describe what I do for Nissan:

It’s tough to focus; I’ve had something on my mind since this morning. Then it hit me; I can see it now: Grocery shopping, trips to the mall, the neighbor kid’s hair on fire, sippy cups take flight! It’s a new understanding and appreciation of the Earth’s natural forces as clear and clean as Maricopa’s morning air. I layout targets for the New Dimensional Multi-Performance Super-SUV: 0-60 faster than most vintage Z’s and enough power and torque to roast Escalades (forget minivans!) I just set targets for the new Armada GTR. God I love my job!

With the real GTR about to hit the US (the cars are in customs in LA right now) this seemed like a good time to finally put this picture up. You might have already seen it on Truckin’ Magazine’s website, but it’s kinda buried.

Truckin’ ran this other picture Brian did in the magazine as a Dream Truck. This is a V8 Nissan Pathfinder concept we’ve been kicking around. Have you driven a Pathfinder? Performance is not bad, but the V8 is just sick. The same 300 horse from the Titan and Armada can be found, unaltered, in the Pathfinder. Hold on.

Brian did me a solid by keeping the MyRideisMe.com logo on the windshield. Thanks my man!

These are both big, high quality images. (click on them to see full size) Please throw them on your desktop after you’ve taken a look at:

Cruise Missile: 1994 Nissan Skyline GTS25t

You never know what might show up at your local cruise-in. I am always on the lookout for something different; something you don’t see every day. On a recent trip to the local Friday night hangout in Charles Town, WV, I noticed a nice looking black import from across the lot. I moved in to investigate deeper and my curiosity peeked even more since it was a right hand drive. It was actually a 1994 Nissan Skyline GTS25t owned by Ric Wells of Berryville, VA.

Ric told me the story of how he purchased the car while he was stationed on Okinawa, Japan. After retiring from the Marines he had the car imported state side and sent to a company named Motorex for legalization. Soon he was tied up in the Motorex defrauding mess. It took more than two years before he was finally able to drive the car again.

While not a GT-R (which actually makes the car rarer in the US), Ric has modified the original RB25DET motor to put out more than 500hp. Some of these mods include: Greedy intake and plenum, HKS Intercooler and blow off valve, Precision 1000cc injectors, Infinity Q45 throttle body, TiAL 44mm wastegates, and a Garrett GT40 87mm turbo. After the all these mods Ric says, “the Skyline is a blast to drive, especially here [in the States] since it is right hand drive.”

You can find more photos and information in Ric’s garage (dreamrides) Thanks for joining Ric!

Written by Bubba Harmon (bubbastoybox)

Nissan GT-R is Almost Here

It’s been a long time coming and I’ve been waiting like so many. The GT-R is a race car built for the street. For those of you who don’t know why the GTR’s so cool, compare it to the Corvette. Except the GT-R’s a racing Corvette (think Z06 + Callaway upgrade) that’s NEVER been offered for sale in the US. Here are the pictures Nissan is releasing of the car:

The GTR’s all business and always has been. Consider that in 1989 the R32 version of the GT-R was undefeated, winning 29 of 29 races in the 1990 Japanese Touring Car Championship. Then, the next generation R33 became a legend by lapping the famous Nürburgring race course under 8 minutes. At the time, that was unheard of for a “street” car.

In the released photos of the GT-R, it retains its signature round tail lights. Other than that, the details are all rumor since Nissan is keeping extremely tight lips on engine and suspension details. If you want to know the truth, you’ll have to wait until the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show in October. When it’s release, look for Nissan to confirm that it STOMPS the Z06 Corvette for about the same money and beats the Porsche 911 Turbo’s 7 minute 40 second lap time at Nürburgring. Ever priced a 911?

Slammed Nissan Armada

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This Armada’s old news! Check this out:

Nissan Armada GTR- Not for Soccer Mom

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I caught this ride at the Scottsdale, AZ Pavilions on Saturday 9/1. The Pavilions is a weekly show at the McDonald’s at Indian Bend and the 101.I’ve got a sweet spot for Nissan’s since I’m an Engineer for Nissan. This is the first time I’ve seen a slammed Armada. The Titan’s been done but it’s got a solid rear axle. The Armada’s rear axle is independent. Eric from Phoenix has this truck done right. 26″Giovanna GG 111 rims tucked in a custom color matched Katzkin charcoal leather interior and a JL Audio system by House of Sounds. It’s a well done truck. Check it out!From the back… be sure to check out ArtofNoize.com for more info about the truck. Hopefully, Eric will make a garage at MyRideisMe.com so he can really show us what he’s done.

If you like what you see, please join MyRideisMe.com!