The Future is Blue

With a mixture of 7 TV screens, free view and 605bhp, this is probably the fastest ice monster you’ll ever encounter. Welcome to the world of Chris Hayes.

And what a world it is. But somehow he comes across as one of the most modest people I’ve ever met. And coming from a man that climbs pylons all year round and keeps our electricity flowing for a living being modest is quite something.

If it wasn’t for the skyline being right in front of us I for one would never guess that behind this man stands one of the most impressive and photographed cars I’ve been lucky enough to get to know.

It has that presence that comes with all the greats, the one that makes you stand there staring, almost gawping and making yourself look like a prize fool, and then you remember you’ve got an interview to get on with.

So I have to ask how this beast of a car came to be, it turns out it all   started in the form of a computer game, Chris found the car of his dreams while playing Gran Turismo on his play station 2 and since purchasing it has strived to make it the ultimate machine.

It’s obvious when you first set eyes on the striking turquoise blue candy paint and 18inch chrome Do- luck double six rims that this is going to be something very special indeed and even a glimpse through the windows at the custom door builds and lightweight carbon centre console and dash reveals that your thoughts are not to be let down.

The word custom is used very frequently when it comes to Chris’s skyline and when you look at all the details, like the boot build with 3 of it’s own TV screens and rear quarter panel builds it all makes perfect sense, the time, thought and obviously money that has gone into this car is without question in it’s masses and worth it all. And a lot of it is credited to Ed at Sextons, he carved and covered the wooded bases for the whole set up and if I make that sound easy have a go at creating your own install, work with this finish needs a true pro.

With no less than 7 TV screens (2 in sun visors, 2 in doors and 3 in the boot lid), free view receiver, play station 2 and a Kicker sound system to rival most live gigs the skyline seems like the perfect show car.

And it definitely gets all the attention it deserves and some.

Two of the very few stock parts left are the sparco seats and multi function display, and wisely so, the seats have just the right sport to comfort ratio and the display has all the gauges that are needed built in.

But just a show car this is not, and I know with all that ice and styling must come weight but when you delve deeper, into a spec list that takes up nearly as much room as the article itself you find yourself looking at it in a completely different light, and realising that this is also built for speed with the engine producing an amazing 605bhp. That’s the equivalent of a sumo wrestler being able to win the 100metre sprint, pretty impressive stuff.

So how did he get the standard v-spec to this point? Well there doesn’t seem to be much that hasn’t been uprated on this car, and the engine seems like a good place to start; to look at it is a very well presented sea of blue and chrome and you would think Samco and HKS might have shares in the car, with the cams, pulleys, super flow fuel pump and fuel rail to name but a few parts blessed by the HKS gods.

Twin Trust T517z turbo’s force the masses of dense air (created by HKS’s racing intercooler) into contact with the fully race prepped and balanced engine with nismo air flow metres keeping a watchful eye while the hugely effective RSP 750cc injectors give the fuel to match. And the brain behind this brawn? A very respectable Apexi power FC ECU.

Reeling of these parts makes it sound like it’s all been an easy ride, far from it and although Chris always wanted something that could rival most streetcars he didn’t plan on the engine blowing up on a dyno trip, not a happy experience. Imagine getting that phone call ‘Um, Mr Hayes I’m afraid there’s a problem, you’re oil pump has given up on the dyno.’ The fact that the car was only booked in for a service only made the news more bitter. But, as the saying goes every cloud has a silver lining and Chris, like any respectable enthusiast took the opportunity while the engine had to be dismantled, uprated and forged to add more power. And that’s how he got to this point.

So with a car build for all show and all go it’s got to have some good stopping power This is achieved by some larger than life, Alcon 355mm grooved front discs with Alcon 6 pot front callipers providing the grabbing force. The rears are fitted with Alcon 350mm grooved rear discs and 4 pot callipers to match, and with the toyo’s measuring a very wide 285/35 stopping shouldn’t be a problem!

The suspension is the Tein fully adjustable super street version and set up just how Chris likes it, hard enough to know you’re in a power house but soft enough to keep the car’s 4 models sitting comfortably, yes the car has it’s own models.

As if the skyline wasn’t statement enough on it’s own it is joined at the shows by 4 lovely ladies, Rachel, Katie, Clare and Kelly. The car generates plenty of attention on it’s own but you can imagine the amount of coverage it receives with the female forces by it’s side, Chris seems to quite enjoy the company too.

And as if that wasn’t enough of an atmosphere you can find these girls podium dancing next to Chris on the decks at the kickers stand as their regular dj creating the perfect buzzing atmosphere to compliment his Ferrari lifestyle, fast cars, fast women.

Unfortunately there aren’t any quarter mile times recorded yet, mainly down to the fact that it has so many stand demands at shows and Chris has the decks to spin and models to look after but with the next show season well on it’s way we’re hoping to see some times put to the skyline’s impressive list of achievements. Track days are also a bit of a no-no with everything considered, trying to get replacement parts would be mission impossible and the cost in both money and time missed at shows could be devastating. But it’s definitely all worth it to have something this unique.

So what does the future hold for the GTR then? Well according to Chris this is where it stops and I can see why, with a great balance of looks, performance and handling would changing or progressing any thing topple one of the 3? Maybe, and to go any further would take enormous amounts of money. But anyone in the modded car scene knows how hard the modification bug can bite and when you’ve come as far with a car as Chris has is it that easy to shake the addiction and stay happy with no more challenges? I ‘m not so sure but who knows, only time will tell.