You cannot describe Tokyo’s car culture without mentioning a certain purple Liberty Walk Nissan GT-R. This purple GT-R has been dominating the Tokyo car scene for close to a decade now, and it has pretty much become a Tokyo celebrity in its own rights, with an Instagram account followed by almost five hundred thousand people. This GT-R is so omnipresent in the Tokyo landscape that, if you’re coming here to experience the local car scene, you will probably come across it at some point during your trip, whether at the Daikoku Parking Area or somewhere in the city.
Over the years living here, I have stumbled upon his purple GT-R by accident countless times already. I have seen it drive past me through the streets of Ginza, on Tokyo highways, and I’ve spotted it parked in various locations across Tokyo. Although I had never met Niko-san, the owner of the purple Liberty Walk GT-R until today, it felt like I already knew his car quite well, having seen it driving around so often. Naturally, I was quite excited to finally meet him and his car not in passing, but in person this time.
Meet Niko-san, The Owner Of The Purple Liberty Walk GT-R
I met Niko-san in front of a Lawson, a popular Japanese convenience store, in the Tokyo Bay area on an unusually cold Wednesday night. Despite the sakura season right around the corner, it had snowed in Tokyo that morning. Niko-san pulled up to our meeting spot right on the dot and if I wasn’t actively on the lookout for a purple GT-R, I wouldn’t have noticed him driving in. He drove in quietly, no excessive revving or fast accelerating, and all LED lights on his car were turned off. That is one thing I loved about Japanese culture: the unspoken rules of punctuality and respect of your surroundings that we all live by.
His GT-R was just as I remembered, very purple, with a transparent bonnet showing off the car’s V6 engine and the massive Japanese Rising Sun decal on the side in a lighter shade of purple used by Liberty Walk on some of their cars. I waved at Niko-san, who stopped his car next to mine. As he got out of his Liberty Walk GT-R, I walked over to greet him. He was a calm and friendly person and we quickly started chatting about all things cars.
“When manufacturers and tuners release new cars and new bodykits at an accelerated pace, an eight-year-long ownership is quite a rare thing.”
Niko-san had come here for this shoot right after wrapping up work, but he reassured me that he was used to it. With a car as popular and as photographed as his, going out on shoots at night was pretty much a part of his regular routine; a routine that he enjoyed very much. We bought some warm bottles of green tea and a few cans of RedBull at the Lawson for a little night cruise on the Shutoko and around the Tokyo Bay.
A Walk-Around The Purple Liberty Walk Nissan GT-R
Why A Liberty Walk Nissan GT-R?
Ayesh Seneviratne, Claire-Kaoru Sakai / HotCars
Niko-san has had his Liberty Walk GT-R since 2017, for about eight years already. But this takes us back to 2007 when Nissan had just launched their brand new, completely revamped R35 GT-R. Nissan’s sports car became an instant icon, beating records on the Nurburgring track and leaving other sports cars like the Porsche 911 in the dust. Nissan had brought an icon back to life and made it in turn the fastest sports car at the time.
Like many gearheads, Niko-san is a sports car lover and like any Japanese car lover, the GT-R has always been a car he’s looked up to. Before his purple GT-R, he drove the Toyota Aristo, a JDM sedan popular with street racers, fitted with the same 3.0-liter inline-6 2JZ engine as the Supra and known as the Lexus GS abroad. Japan’s most iconic sports car paired with an impactful bodykit was all it took for Niko-san to make up his mind. Parting ways with his Aristo to make room for his dream car, Niko-san got his Liberty Walk GT-R here in Tokyo from a Liberty Walk distributor.
Of All Colors, Why A Purple GT-R?
Ayesh Seneviratne, Claire-Kaoru Sakai / HotCars
Looking for the right GT-R to replace his Aristo, Niko-san knew he wanted something that would stand out of the crowd. In Japan, the automotive color palette tends to be very monochromatic, even for the GT-R, and even colors such as Wangan Blue or Millenium Jade are still rare finds for R35 models. Although he knew he didn’t want to go for a generic white or silver GT-R, purple wasn’t a color he had planned on getting all along. When a brand new purple Liberty Walk GT-R came up at his Tokyo shop, he knew that was the one. Purple was a color he fancied, and no one else would have a GT-R like his.
The purple paint on Niko-san’s GT-R is a rich purple with metallic flakes, but what makes the car look so nice and harmonious overall is the two-tone color pattern. The bright metallic purple contrasts with the solid lilac paint accents on the wheels and with the lilac gradient flag painted on the doors. The whole look is tied together with blue underglow lighting at night.
Specs And Other Mods On The Purple Liberty Walk GT-R
Ayesh Seneviratne, Claire-Kaoru Sakai / HotCars
Aside from the obvious signature Liberty Walk bodykit with the wide fenders, there are a lot more hidden details to this car. For example, the lilac “deep dish” rims are custom made by Liberty Walk, meaning you won’t find that design in any other Liberty Walk GT-Rs. The car is fitted with air suspension from ACC, with the suspension system and controls installed in the trunk of the GT-R. The ECU has been tuned to produce about 600 horsepower, which pretty much equals the power output of a GT-R Nismo. The exhaust has also been modified and Niko-san can open or close the valves from a remote control he keeps with his car keys. The interior remains stock, with the original light beige leather seats.
A fun fact that most people don’t know (or have forgotten about) is that his car used to be fully purple, until he replaced the car’s purple bonnet with a one-off, custom-made transparent bonnet that shows off the car’s V6-engine. He keeps the original purple bonnet in his garage of course.
As for Niko-san’s favorite angle of his car, it was without hesitation the rear look of his car, with the massive wing and the iconic GT-R tail lights that he has also modified.
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Life With An Insta-Famous Liberty Walk GT-R Is About The Memories You Make
The People You Meet
Ayesh Seneviratne, Claire-Kaoru Sakai / HotCars
Sitting by the sidewalk in a quieter area of the Tokyo Bay, we kept on chatting about his car until we got interrupted by an impromptu visit from the Japanese police. We saw a car strangely resembling a Toyota Crown police car approaching but by the time we realized that it was indeed a police car, the red patrol lights turned on and it was already too late to leave. With the Tokyo police having gotten stricter than ever and cracking down on modified cars and on car meets in Tokyo, I couldn’t help but feel worried. As it turned out, we weren’t doing anything wrong, the two police officers were simply out on a routine patrol and one of them happened to be a car enthusiast too, asking Niko-san, “is that a Liberty Walk GT-R?”
That’s the thing about Niko-san’s car, it attracts fellow car enthusiasts. As I learned during our conversation, his Liberty Walk GT-R has allowed him to meet people from across the world. He’s even received a custom made miniature version of his car from an American friend, who made it for him and shipped it all the way to Japan and which he keeps right behind the gear shifter.
The Memories You Make
Ayesh Seneviratne, Claire-Kaoru Sakai / HotCars
What I find most memorable about Niko-san’s Liberty Walk GT-R is all of the memories it carries with it. Niko-san’s Liberty Walk GT-R is amongst the earlier models that were built, but it is now also one of the rare ones that are still around and driven by their original owners. When manufacturers and tuners release new cars and new bodykits at an accelerated pace, an eight-year-long ownership is quite a rare thing. Niko-san has joined many events with his car during the past eight years, from Gumball 3000 to FuelFest, as well as countless supercar touring events and GT-R meets as some of the stickers on his car show. His GT-R has also helped him grow his interest in photography and videography, by taking his car to the iconic Hakone Turnpike toll road to photograph it under the cherry blossom trees, or by learning from friends and photographers shooting his car.
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What’s Next For Niko-San And His Liberty Walk GT-R?
Ayesh Seneviratne, Claire-Kaoru Sakai / HotCars
Since Niko-san purchased his 2008 Nissan GT-R eight years ago, lots have changed in the automotive scene. The GT-R it is no longer the fastest sports car, and Nissan has even announced the possibility of turning it electric altogether. Some would simply turn to something newer and faster, but what makes this GT-R so unique, and perhaps even better than any brand new car out there is that it has its own unique story. His dream car has given him opportunities, encounters and memories of a lifetime, and one thing’s for sure, he plans on keeping this car forever, he told me without an ounce of hesitation. But if you’re wondering what’s next for Niko-san and his GT-R, he did give us some insight. As one of the stickers on his car’s rear quarter glass shows, Niko-san also happens to like Lamborghini cars a lot, especially V12 models such as the Aventador, or the new Revuelto. In the not-too-distant future, Niko-san’s GT-R could become the big brother to a new supercar and you guessed it, when that happens, that new Lamborghini will also be purple. One thing’s for sure, I’ll be there to photograph Tokyo’s coolest purple fleet.
AloJapan.com