Hey Cinderella, wanna race for pink slips? I win, I get your boyfriend's big house.
Earlier this year we brought you the scoop on Zele International's GTR: "Complete Edition" that was set to debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon in early 2009. Well apparently the reception was a warm one, because Zele is pulling out all the stops and is bringing it's company mascot, the R35 GTR, to SEMA 2009. Zele started life as a Skyline dealership in Yokohama, selling Skylines to Japanese and international customers for years. In 2007 they were accepted by NISMO as a business partner, an indication of their value to the Nissan world.With this partnership and the R35 arriving soon, the tide was right for Zele to show the world they knew more about Skylines than how to get you low APR financing. They decided the R35 would be the car that would showcase a talent for modifying, by building 8 exclusive GTRs called the "Complete Edition." They will be displaying this Carbon Fiber-clad warrior on the ENEOS performance motor oil stand. Like Jim Carry's eye-searingly brightly colored tux in Dumb and Dumber, this car will stand out at the party.
I stumbled upon the Zele GTR while looking for a tuner that wanted more from their GTR than big horsepower and a lower 0-60 time. Don't get me wrong, I love horsepower and neck-snapping acceleration but it seemed that's the only place people were putting in their time with this car. Everyone is so wrapped up in what the performance capabilities are that the outside is often overlooked. I think the most modified I've seen the outside of a GTR is a pair of painted side-skirts or the giant wing that Mines bolted on. It reminds me of my muscle car friends in high shool. You could have bought an old GTO with no doors, a pink hood, a Hello Kitty sticker the covered the entire roof, saggy suspension (That was me.) and a body in the trunk. But did you address these issues first? No. Second? Not likely. It wasn't until you had maxed-out the power that the laws of physics would allow before you would even notice there were other issues to attend to. So it seems is the case with the GTR. People are still track testing cars, unlocking ECUs, bolting in turbos, and screaming about the latest 0-60 time but without the stickers down the side and the rain of news from the blogosphere you couldn't tell the COBB GTR from the one sitting at the dealer. Everyone is so focused on performance numbers and dyno runs, they forget there's a whole car to tinker with.
That is not the case with the Zele GTR. They paid attention to every part of the car. If you're going to make a name for yourself with the GTR, you better stand out, and it does. It's parts list is longer than the P800 from Switzer we covered last month, but only 3 of those parts influence the horsepower. A Zele ECU raises the boost slightly, and a titanium turbo-back exhaust helps turbo spool and top end power. The result is a mild 550HP. In this day and age that number is practically a starting point for any high-end sports car but for Zele it's enough because they had other parts of the car to develop. For example, all of it. The list of carbon fiber parts is too long to list, so I'll put some of my favorites: the hood, roof, wing, rear diffuser and mirrors. There's at least 6 other trim pieces done in black carbon fiber. All the pieces were designed and developed by Zele themselves. They're a little different than your local Nissan dealership.
Next came the suspension, a Zele-designed kit that can be adjusted for ride-height. But they didn't just put a sticker on some Koni's and bolt them on, they did some serious testing. 3 different race tracks were used, in both wet and dry, to make sure the suspension was perfect. Next time I see a car commercial use the phrase "track-tuned" suspension I'm going Elvis Presley on my TV. With the suspension came a pair of Ray Volk Racing wheels, in a fantastic flat-black finish. Zele brake pads were installed for even more stopping power, and a pair of Recaro seats were wrapped in Alcantara and bolted in. To finish it off, Zele put on a coat of deep-orange paint that contrasts with the black Carbon Fiber perfectly. The color flattens some of the bulges on the GTR, and the shape seems to flow from end-to-end much better. It looks like they took an idea from the Superleggera design book, but executed it much better. The GTR has never been called gorgeous, but I think Zele built a stunning car, without clouding its identity.
When I was in high school I bought a 1965 Pontiac Le Mans, that had a GTO's 400ci. V8 in it. Within days I had ordered long-tube headers, Flowmaster 40-series mufflers, and a new intake manifold with a Holley carburetor. I installed all of it in one night, and spent the following years annoying my neighbors and racing the other local hot-rodders. But every day the front tires scraped the fenders due to weak suspension and the rusty holes in the trunk grew til light came through. But I didn't care, because I was a 5 year old who liked loud cars, big noise, going fast, and damn the details.
But I was a kid.
As an adult I would build the entire car slowly and correctly until it was a car, not an engine with bits of metal dragging behind it. As much as I love anyone that shoves 1000hp under the hood of their car, if it doesn't have the brakes, suspension, and looks to match, it seems unfinished. The Zele GTR is a finished product. It is a complete car. It's horsepower may be less than cars from Mines, Switzer, or COBB but it looks like an individual. It won't get lost in a crowd, yet it's not an extra from Fast and Furious 8:Maximum Downforce. In a recent photo shoot for GTR-Bros. Magazine 6 tuners brought their new R35s; 4 of them were white. A different wing here, different wheels there, but it was like seeing 4 Emperor Penguins standing next to each other. They all look the same, even if they're wearing different hats. By comparison a Zele Penguin would have it's feathers dyed and i wearing running shoes, carbon fiber gloves, a hockey mask, and a jet-pack.
Zele's car is simply called "Complete Edition", and you know what? I like that. That's what is is. This is a car that's comparable to a TechArt Porsche, or a Hammann Ferrari. Not necessarily in price or horsepower, but in the idea to create an entire car and the execution of that goal. It has 550 horsepower, it will go 0-60 in under 4 seconds, and it will be a serious competitor when the road gets twisty, all while turning heads. There will be only 8 Complete Editions made, but at $200,000 each, there had better only be 8 of them. That's more than double the price of a stock GTR, and more than the upcoming Spec V. I don't know if I could swallow that price for a GTR, but I do commend Zele for doing what few tuners do, building a complete edition. I think this company will be one to watch.
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