Automotive videographer and photographer Larry Chen is one of the very best content creators in the automotive world. His photographs and videos are extraordinary, and his YouTube channel sees him check out some truly epic builds. These range from the original Falken drifting Mazda RX-7, to equally impressive Ferrari drift cars. But this Nissan 350Z might be one of the most insane builds that Chen has ever showcased, and certainly the most insane Nissan Z car that he has ever seen.
The Nissan 350Z is already a high-performance machine. And it will only get more high-performance if you take that basic Nissan sports car, shove a 4.2-liter engine in it, turn it into a hybrid-electric and THEN add in a Formula 1 KERS system. That might all sound like the stuff of fantasy and dreams, but this is exactly what this Nissan 350Z that belongs to Sasha Anis has under the hood and beneath all its glorious, aero-laden bodywork. You might have thought the Nissan 350Z has had its moment in the sun. Well Anis is here to make sure we never forget about his own Nissan 350Z.
The Most Intense And Insane 350Z You Will Ever See
Chen was out at an event at Lime Rock, and just had to cover this rather incredible machine. What looks like a spaceship started out as a Nissan Grand-Am racecar from California. Anis inherited this car as a racecar before he, in his own words, turned it into a spaceship. It’s an utterly ludicrous build, with holes in the engine bay simply for clearance for the springs. When it comes to power, the powertrain is a 4.2-liter, 15 to 1 compression naturally-aspirated Jim Wolf Technology engine.
It features huge headers, and all-in the engine makes around 530 hp at the wheel. It is a VQ42 engine, and it amazingly runs on just regular pump gas with an additive added. So 530 hp on regular gas with a simple addition. That is bonkers, and it revs to around 8,300 rpm, so it makes one hell of a noise, as Chen’s video attests too. Taking weight off the car was a nightmare, as all the additions up front made it front-end heavy. A new front-end and a battery at the back did help with the weight and the balance of the car.
Adding F1 Technology Into A Nissan 350Z
Chen describes this absolute beast as a spaceship, but it really is. The car has a Formula E motor in the car, between the engine and the transmission in the bell-housing. Yes. A Formula E motor. This car does not have a clutch in it, as the electric motor has to both be the starter, start the engine and do the movement at the same time. This car has to start on that electric motor, meaning that this is effectively a direct-drive car. Once the engine is above a certain RPM, the engine fires up.
Things get even more high-tech. In the interior of the 350Z we find a DC-DC converter, and that is the same unit that you would find on a modern Red Bull Formula 1 car. In effect, this is the same KERS system you would find on a Grand Prix car, whereby the energy is all recovered when you are under braking. Modern Formula 1 cars do this via the MGU-K system, which is in effect a more developed version of the KERS system brought into F1 during 2009 and then re-developed for 2011 onwards.
A Hybrid-Electric Monster That Just Wows Chen
The battery itself for the KERS system is from a BMW i8, with the cables running up into a power-distribution box behind the driver and then that all connects to the F1 KERS system where the passenger's seat would be. All of that then feeds into the electric motor in the car. Chen is equally stunned to learn that this wild car has four-wheel steering, all of which was in fact done to help put the power-down from that giant front-engine, and it was all achieved by buying an actuator and reverse engineering it.
One Of The Most High-tech Time Attack Cars In The United States
There is so much more we could sink our teeth into with this 350Z, but this is just the highlights of what must be one of the most outrageous builds we have seen so far from Chen’s channel. The sounds this monster produces as it roars around the racetrack is simply indescribable, and to know it has Formula E and Formula 1 technology in it just makes it all the more impressive. When this 350Z left the Nissan factory, it's highly unlikely that the engineers who put it together ever thought that it could become such a track-monster with Formula 1 technology taking it to the next level.
Source: Larry Chen YouTube Channel
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