By adopting rear-wheel drive for the V35 generation, the G-Series line became a commercial hit across North America for its performance credentials, sporty looks, and premium appointments. G35 owners, however, are currently split into two categories: those who modify the VQ35DE V6 engine until the rod bearings give up the ghost and those who rice things up with lowering kit and a comically huge rear wing.
An honorable mention also goes to people who believe that stickers look cool. These being said, the G35 attracts these individuals because it can be picked up for less than a Fox-body Mustang with a working V8 powerplant.
There are, however, a few exceptions to the rule. One exception is Matt Happel of Sloppy Mechanics fame, the guy who modified a beat-up Chevrolet Colorado to 1,037 wheel horsepower from a junkyard-sourced V8. Matt owns the 2006 model year Infiniti G35 in the following video from Regular Car Reviews, and as the headline implies, the bone-stock engine came out in favor of a Vortec 4800 sourced from a full-size GM cargo van.
Based on the Generation III small-block V8 truck engine, this lump used to make 255 horsepower to 285 horsepower when it was brand-spanking new. Torque wasn’t too shabby either at 285 to 295 pound-feet (386 to 400 Nm), but this engine isn’t exactly stock. Currently rated at 360 wheel horsepower instead of 600 with a blower and 680 with nitrous, the hot-cammed and long-tubed Vortec 4800 motor is a far cry from the standard G35.
All told, more than $21,000 worth of modifications went into this one-off build that will affront G-Series loyalists with small-block sounds. The CD009 six-speed manual transmission makes this G35 all the more interesting to drive because of the unsprung twin-disc clutch which makes it difficult to get off the line as smoothly as a sprung clutch enables you to do.
Despite this daily-driving niggle, I wholeheartedly invite you to skip to the 13:35 mark of the following video to see this almost stock-looking G35 lay down 11s through second gear and chirp the rear wheels in third and fourth.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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