A few months ago, a Nissan GT-R LM20 came up for sale on PH, and given that Litchfield Motors only built 20 of them to celebrate its 20th anniversary back in 2017, we naturally made a song and dance about it. To all intents and purposes, that car was a ‘stock’ LM20, meaning the 675hp, 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 had, after the sprinkling of Litchfield fairy dust, been left alone. We all know it’s virtually impossible for GT-R owners to leave anything stock, but when Tewkesbury's finest tuners put 10 years worth of R35 know-how into its anniversary car, leaving things be is understandable.
This, however, isn’t the same car - although it has featured on the PH homepage at least once before. Now live and open for bids, this is the very first LM20 Litchfield assembled, and the car that bore the brunt of the firm’s press commitments. Not only does that mean it starred in all the original marketing pictures and made a few motor show appearances, it’s also the car Dan T reviewed back in 2017. Despite some scepticism about adding more power into the mix, he praised the LM20 “not just for the outright performance but also for the fact it's a complete package.”
What said package entailed, aside from the considerable power hike, were Litchfield-specific Bilstein dampers paired with NASCAR-grade springs up front, bringing a 50 per cent increase in stiffness. Sturdier anti-roll bars and Litchfield-branded Alcon brakes also featured, alongside the geo-tweaking Handling Kit. The company even went as far as designing its own bodykit in a wind tunnel, with a deeper front bumper and bolt-on carbon spoiler lip cleaning up airflow and pinning the rear of the car into the tarmac at high speed - which never took very long to achieve in an LM20.
Especially in chassis 01, because it’s changed a bit since PH last drove it. Over the last few years, it’s been back and forth to Litchfield for additional upgrades, including the company’s own race intercooler and induction kit, as well as hybrid turbos, a gearbox heat exchanger and myriad other tweaks for a staggering 800hp. That sounds a lot, of course, but the seller has obsessed over the setup to make all that power accessible on the road. Believing the Litchfield setup was too track-focused, he's made numerous alterations to keep the car straight and true on throttle, while retaining the laser-focused front end the LM20 is known for.
That’s evident in the dry, with a squeeze of the throttle providing an immensely satisfying swell of torque as the turbos whistle into action. The LM20 gives you everything it’s got almost immediately, but this isn’t the benign sort of shove you get from an electric car - it’s far more dramatic, with a hint of lag reminding you that you’re in something wholly and deliciously mechanical. The same goes for the hydraulically-assisted steering, which is wonderfully weighted and surprisingly communicative. It’s nicely set up and manages bumps with a degree of decorum, which is a testament to Litchfield’s handiwork and the seller’s efforts in refining the ride quality.
Annoyingly, I only managed a short stint of dry running before the heavens opened right as we started filming. As you can imagine, 800hp is a little trickier to manage in the wet, and going beyond 70 per cent throttle is rather eye-opening, but that delightfully analogue feel prevails and it’s a delight to drive even at a (much) slower pace. It’s guided at £80,000 to £85,000, which is about par for a standard facelifted R35. Yes, it’s modified, but all the major work has been carried out by arguably the UK's best-known GT-R specialist, and serious attention has been paid to making this LM usable. That being said, it will also comfortably clear 200mph - even a NISMO can’t do that.
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