Safari builds are becoming more and more popular both from manufacturers and in the aftermarket scene. It should be no shock then that Adam LZ’s Nissan Skyline “Safari GT-R” made big waves last week. Now, we’re getting the first chance to see it rip around what will now be its natural habitat: dirt and snow.
Don’t worry, Adam LZ didn’t hack up a perfectly pristine GT-R to create this monster. Instead, he salvaged a donor vehicle and brought it back to life. In a previous video, he showed off its turbocharged engine that made 500 hp (368 kW) at the wheels. He also ripped it around a few dirt roads but they were short and simple clips that pale in comparison to what we’re seeing now.
Notably, this GT-R has a selectable 4WD system which allows Adam to tune in more power to the rear wheels whenever he’d like. Of course, that also means that he can dial in more power to the front wheels when appropriate and that’s on display here. He spends time first on mostly dirt roads where he engages the RWD bias and lets the tail get happy.
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Then, the snowpack gets deeper and begins to fully cover the road surface. There, he switches on 4WD and lets this Skyline eat. Despite the snowpack, the drivetrain and the Nitto Nomad Grappler tires have little trouble biting in and propelling the car forward. LZ gets a feeling for how the car likes to change direction without perfect grip and then gets back to dirt where he goes back to RWD and decides to string together some drifts.
It’s clear from the video below that the platform in general is balanced and predictable. That’s about the best-case scenario for a home-made safari car like this. As these types of builds become more popular don’t be too surprised to see other automakers join in on the fun. Rumor has it that Ford is already working on a Mustang Raptor to do this type of thing. We can’t wait to see what’s next.