The year was 2009 when a fire-breathing orange monster called Godzilla descended on the peaceful island of Newfoundland and attacked the roads of the Rock.
IMSA legend Steve Millen from New Zealand brought a 620-hp 2009 Nissan R35 GT-R to take on Targa Newfoundland with Road & Track editor Mike Monticello as co-driver. With 15 psi of boost from the turbochargers, the car could hit 0-60 mph in just 2.9 seconds and do the quarter mile in 11 seconds. The pair easily hit over 200 kph on the Targa stages.
Godzilla came with a long list of modifications including a full roll-cage and a pair of racing seats, carbon fibre hood and trunk lid, new downpipes, intake system, an electronic boost controller and a pair of blow-off-valves, coil-overs with Eibach Race Springs, adjustable sway bars and endlinks, AP Racing carbon-ceramic brakes, and wide Bridgestone tires. It was a beast.
Despite never driving Targa before, Millen and Monticello took first place in Modern Division. Monticello wrote a magazine article in Road & Track about their adventure. Here is an excerpt:
“The second to last to start the stage, Millen launched the GT-R with fury into the waning light, carbon rotors a-glowing, belching blue flames from the exhaust and sending onlookers scattering for cover, the GT-R was in its element. And so was Millen, 4-wheel-drifting through corners with near reckless abandon while I tried to keep up with the pace notes…”
– Mike Monticello, Road & Track
“Even though we didn’t win the Targa overall, we had a great time here in Newfoundland,” Millen told Road & Track. “The GT-R worked fantastic the whole week. Whether it was rough and bumpy or cold and rainy, the GT-R shined. Unfortunately our overall result is not indicative of our actual performance.”
No civilians or infrastructure were harmed by Godzilla’s attack.
Photos: Stillen, Road & Track, Grassrootsmotorsports.com, topspeed.com, Modified Mag, motorauthority.com, Warwick Patterson
https://blog.stillen.com/steve-millen-racing-heritage/
You can watch some videos of them in action below:
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