Britain's annual Goodwood Festival of Speed has become so massive that to describe it as an historic racing event is to radically understate its scope or growing importance. In fact, amid all the old race cars running at this year's event were some fancy new ones, and even toys from manufacturers just looking to spark some interest.
One of these was Nissan's 350Z GT-S Concept. Built by Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE - located in Cranfield, Bedfordshire) as a 'club special' that could be used on the street or for weekend track work, the GT-S features a Novidem centrifugal supercharger system that heaves output from the standard 300bhp to 382bhp and peak torque up from 260lb-ft to 314lb-ft. Nissan UK claims the extra power should knock about a second from the stock car's 0-60mph time and 2.5 seconds off the 0-100mph reading.
Along with the additional thrust, the NTCE team used a Strosek body kit to smooth things aerodynamically and re-tuned the suspension using Bilstein shocks and oversize wheels and tires (front: 18 x 8.5 wheels with 245/40R18 tires, rear: 18 x 9.5 with 265/40R18 tires).
There's no guarantee (or even likelihood) that the GT-S will ever be more than a plaything for Nissan's British engineers, but it's good to know there's a broad tuning interest in the Zed worldwide.