McLaren’s Lando Norris turned heads faster than he drives when he arrived at the Japanese Grand Prix at the beginning of this triple header. Arriving in a highly modified Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, the driver showed off his collaboration with car fettlers Liberty Walk. With a behind the scenes video of the build now published by Norris’ media company, Quadrant, we can explore what exactly went into this build.
With the process beginning in the Netherlands, Norris visited the country’s Liberty Walk showroom where he discussed what he wanted from the custom project.
“This is like my dream place, like a dream garage,” Norris said as he walked in and was greeted by the likes of a Toyota Supra, McLaren P1, and a Ferrari Testarossa, each featuring modifications by the company. It turns out that this project has been over two years in the making, with the driver always wanting to do something with the brand.
The base for this project came in the shape of the legendary R32: an icon of Japanese car culture. Produced from 1989 to 1994, the car has formed a cult following with its legendary RB26DETT twin-turbo straight-six engine producing 280 horsepower in stock form. Norris’ car wasn’t so modest, with a tuned engine creating upwards of 500 horsepower.
Inspired by Kaido Racers, a bodykit enveloped the original chassis, almost entirely changing the look of the car with wider arches, elongated splitters and bonnet, and an externally mounted oil cooler sat in front of an aftermarket intercooler. A large rear wing was the cherry on top for this JDM sports car.
It made its first appearance ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, but the car was later used in a YouTube video published by Monster, similar to that of Lewis Hamilton’s Japanese-themed videos.
“It was just a cool project with Liberty Walk that I got to do with Quadrant, nothing to do with McLaren or Formula 1, it was just my love for cars outside of Formula 1,” Norris told the media during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
