Engine: RB26DETT Estimated HP: 720bhp Top Speed: n/a

Text & Photos By Sameer RB

Even though being from the Al Shamsi family, Faisal Al Shamsi, the mastermind behind the customization of this remarkable Japanese import, decided to go for a Japanese super car; the Nissan Skyline. The objective being to compete in Auto Shows, he rather chose a ’96 R33 GT-S to be unique with what you would think is a GT-R at a first glance. Paying close attention to the exterior as well as the engine of the car, he was successful in producing an exceptional yet powerful street legal beast. 


The body tuning strategy for the Nissan consists of a few carefully selected VeilSide parts. The molded side skirts and rear bumper are custom-made while the rear wing/spoiler cloned to that of a VeilSide CII model and a front bumper that practically fits any make. The rest of the body, including the hood, fenders and quarter panels were custom made by a known workshop in Ras-Al-Khaima, the hometown of our friend. Shout-outs to Al Zawraq Graphics for the Blitz Racing vinyl’s displayed on the entire car. To boot the Nitto Drag rubber are the seventeen inches of VOLK Racing rims painted bronze. Coming to the most unique customization, the vertical doors, also very proficiently done by a known workshop in Ras-Al-Khaima. Other finishing touches include the eye-popping Metallic orange paint job, turn signals with their outlines painted orange and custom air intake vents below the side repeaters.


After being satisfied with the looks and the performance, Faisal was still uncomfortable with the car. The bodywork continues into the interior. Of course, a right-hand drive is not very pleasant to drive. Plus, you are not permitted to drive a RHD vehicle for more than a year in this part of the world. For this very reason, a switch from RHD -> LHD was the very first adjustment done to the interior. Nope, still not impressive. The dashboard gets entirely stitched with plain white and orange leather while a pair of new racing bucket seats contributes to comfort. Aluminum mats painted diamond red adds to the colorful part of the interior. To screen the performance of the car, Faisal equipped a boost controller and a boost gauge by GReddy while a typical APEXi turbo timer is on board for proper turbo heating/cooling times.

The exterior was not only what Faisal was focusing on, he actually wanted to stabilize performance with style. Although this was to be a show car, a bigger turbo kit was a mere necessity but even more important was a replacement of the RB25DET single turbo motor with the RB26DETT twin turbo motor such as in a GT-R model. Swapping process completed in a couple of days and was ready to get tuned up! The pressure player under the hood is a Turbonetics T62 turbo. Some additional bolt-ons were required to actually supervise the power and to give a free rein to the true potential of this very beast. These include a Type-R wastegate, intake kit, an oil catch system, fuel line, a couple of six 740cc fuel injectors, water pump, cam sprockets, an improved high performance timing belt, a pair of sports pulleys, fuel regulator, a bigger radiator, metal head gasket and a performance exhaust manifold made of stainless steel, all manufactured by GReddy.


Other tidbits include a VeilSide manifold intake, an oil pump from Tomie, Computer Power PF-C and FC commander from APEXi, Camshafts, connecting rods w/ bolts, fuel pump and fuel catch system from Tomie, a Rose Pistons kit, an Infinity throttle, a Triple-plate clutch and a close-ratio gear kit from OSgiken, a HKS Super air filter and an Intercooler from Blitz.




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