The GU Worx Liberty Walk GT-R
Every so often in Adelaide, there’s one particular car that pops up and leaves us in awe. These cars are a needle in a haystack, and the GU Auto Concepts Liberty Walk GT-R is certainly that car. From its low-key unveiling at the GU Auto Concepts workshop in August 2015 until now; it’s been a bit of a mystery. It was rushed off to Sydney for the 2015 MotorEx and was rarely spotted around Adelaide at all. We’ve all wondered the story of this masterpiece, and it’s about time all was revealed. Slow Life had the opportunity to catch up with Goran; owner and manager of GU Auto Concepts, to chat about the Liberty Walk GT-R and have an exclusive shoot.
Goran’s always had a love for GT-Rs. Having previously owned an R34 GTR; there was only one possible ride to replace it with. After seeing a Liberty Walk-fitted GT-R on youtube one and a half years ago; he was hooked. He had to have one. Whilst in Japan on business, he decided to visit Liberty walk LB Performance… And as we can see; it escalated really quickly from there. In fact, it escalated so much that Liberty Walk owner Kato Wataru travelled from Japan to Adelaide just for the unveiling. His personal signature can be seen on the vehicle’s dashboard.
With only one other Liberty Walk GT-R residing in Australia, there wasn’t much to go by in terms of examples. The build was no easy process, but the GU team enjoyed it and were certainly up for the challenge. The vehicle was completely stripped to accommodate the body kit and AirREX airbag suspension, and the front and rear guards were cut to accommodate the wider wheels and to sit the car as low as the airbags could allow. This was a very challenging experience for the GU Auto Concepts team, and many a late night was spent ensuring the process went smoothly! The chassis and body components were sent away piece by piece to be painted in a magnificent metallic blue, which is notable on numerous Liberty Walk-fitted vehicles; particularly the Ferrari 458. Overall; the process took a mere four weeks from start to completion!
Performance-wise; the GT-R isn’t exactly stock! Featuring a full upgraded titanium exhaust system, uprated fuel pump and injectors running E85 fuel (we couldn’t get enough of the sweet, sweet smell) and a Cobb tune; the vehicle pulls in excess of 400kW at the wheels.
For those who haven’t heard of GU Auto Concepts – it’s probably because the Wingfield-based workshop is only a couple of months old. The Liberty Walk GT-R has definitely set a benchmark in their workmanship, and we can expect many similar builds; including a Rocket Bunny Toyota 86, in the near future. Goran used the term ‘one stop shop’ when asked what they do; and he meant that too. You could drop a stock, factory-standard vehicle at their door and see a cosmetically perfect, performance-enhanced engineering masterpiece come out the other side. They literally do all the work including ordering the parts and getting the car perfect in every way. We’ll definitely be keeping a very close eye on these guys from now on. Since shooting this vehicle, we have seen one of the first Toyota 86 models to be fitted with a Rocket Bunny V2 kit in this workshop, which we will be hearing all about very soon!
Photographers: Corey Hunter & Kevin Tria
Written by Jack Miller
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