Nissan R35 GT-R & NISMO Chief Product Specialist Tamura visits AMS!

Earlier last week, we were contacted by a friend of the shop Mr. Brian Wise with an amazing opportunity. Thanks to a long layover, Nismo’s very own Chief Product Specialist Mr. Hiroshi Tamura would be in the Chicago area. Mr. Tamura is a legend in the GT-R Community. Having been the driving force behind the R34 and the current mind behind the Nismo GT-R and All Nismo models, he carries a resume that would make most Nissan lovers blush. A tuner at heart, Mr. Tamura actually owns an R32 Skyline making 600hp. He appreciates what companies like AMS do and respects the skillset needed to do so.

AMS Performance welcomes Hiroshi Tamura

Mr. Tamura arrived late in the afternoon on Tuesday July 14^th. Greeted by AMS sales manager Eric Gaudi, salesman Larry Hamilton and President Martin Musial. The team gave Mr. Tamura the full, no holds barred, tour of the AMS Performance facility. Instantly it became apparent that Mr. Tamura was a gearhead at heart. He got right into the engine bay of some of our customer and shop GT-R’s and asked many questions about our design process.

AMS Engineers Paul Lucas and John Glass then gave Mr. Tamura an inside view of our engineering department and upcoming R35 projects… A view most don’t get to see. Everyone instantly fell in love with Mr. Tamura’s passion for the GT-R and his desire to learn more about what we do and how we do it.

Following our tour we had a special treat for Mr. Tamura. We build GT-R’s for some fantastic customer but some really and truly love the GT-R heritage and history. Gary Idelchik is one of those customers. Gary had us build quite possibly one of the most well rounded ALPHA 10 based GT-R to date. When we called Gary and asked him if he would like Mr. Tamura to drive it he couldn’t say yes fast enough. So off Mr. Tamura went with AMS President Martin Musial riding passenger. The two talked shop while Mr. Tamura took his hand at driving this nearly 1000whp pump gas R35 GT-R. He enjoyed how fast the car was while still being balanced and responsive. As the two drove back into the lot the surprises were not over.

Mr.Tamura goes for a ride in the Alpha Omega GT-R

Mr. Tamura was very familiar with our shop GT-R ALPHA OMEGA. He rattled off her latest ¼ mile times and performance figures. Ivan and Mr. Tamura went over some of the secrets that make Omega what she is. Following Mr. Tamura’s inspection of Omega’s Billet 4.0 VR38 power plant Ivan asked a simple but powerful question; “Would you like a ride?” Mr. Tamura quickly answered “YES, but as a passenger” followed by some laughter.

The Nissan/NISMO Chief is no stranger to fast cars. Having been a driver himself he has experienced cars similar in acceleration to Omega but none making quite as much power. After strapping in the two went out on a little joy ride around West Chicago. As you can see from the video Mr. Tamura enjoyed himself and even signed the dash of Omega with a special message.

We at AMS are honored to have been able to spend some time with a real pioneer in automotive performance. Mr. Tamura is far from just an executive but really “one of us”. His passion for what he does is seen in the cars that roll off the production line and the tuner companies that make them their own. We are extremely grateful that he chose to spend the little time he had here in Chicago with us and we hope he enjoyed his stay as much as we enjoyed having him. Safe travels Mr. Tamura and our doors will always be open for you!