Daily Slideshow: Brill Steel Carbon S14 Has Something American Under the Hood
Impressive motorsports-inspired engineering, menacing looks, and American muscle. Does it get any better than this?
1. From the Ground Up
There are many different stages of involvement when it comes to custom car builds. Many simply stick to bolt-on parts, while others delve into a little fabrication. But when you want to build a car from the bare chassis up, things get a little more complicated. Most that attempt such an immense task give up eventually. But when you're Enrico Sartori, owner of Brill Steel Motorsports in Northern Italy, you're not concerned with such things. And if you're lucky, the results of your work are good enough to land on the pages of Speed Hunters.
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2. Simple, yet Complicated
Sartori's vision for this project was simple, yet complicated. He wanted to build the perfect drift car, albeit one that drew inspiration from many different forms of motorsports. It took years of work, as well as a careful selection of off-the-shelf and custom parts to get there, but the results are obviously worth it. And we think you'll agree that you won't find another S14 that looks anything quite like this.
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3. American Muscle in Italy
One of the non-negotiables, however, was that this car was going to run an American V8. After all, Brill Steel is famous for their affinity for domestic muscle. So they made a simple phone call and ordered up an LS3 crate motor for their latest project. But they didn't leave it alone, of course. A fortified bottom end, dry sump conversion, and new valvetrain were the first mods. Followed by a Lunati stroker crankshaft, Compstar H-section connecting rods, and high compression Wiseco pistons. When they were done, the LS displaced 427 cubic inches and sported a 14.3:1 compression ratio.
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4. Fruits of Labor
The big(er) engine was topped off with Precision Race Components L92 280 cfm heads, F.A.S.T LSXR intake manifold, and 102 mm PTM body. And if that isn't enough, plans for the future include an eight-throttle setup with velocity stacks. For now, a Nitrous Express setup sprays the small block for some extra juice. The setup was dyno'd at a healthy 717 hp and 896 lb-ft of torque. With the nitrous turned on, those numbers jump to 945 hp.
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5. Inspired by Race Cars
Of course, an engine that's powerful is nothing without the right foundation. And there are plenty of race car-inspired tricks under this S14 to help it achieve maximum grip. A set of crossed bars link the front section of the roll cage through the firewall and onto the strut towers, a nod to WRC cars. The custom rear subframe was designed and tested in-house by Brill Steel, a job that took many hours to complete.
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6. Impressive Piece of Engineering
The rear subframe turned out so good, in fact, that Brill Steel now sells it as an easy bolt-on kit for the S-Chassis. It's designed to be used with Track Day Performance adjustable rear arms, too. You'll find track day approved parts up front too, as a performance angle kit replaces the stock S14 arms. Combined with a custom set of Bilstein adjustable dampers, suspension geometry is spot on. Weighing in at a svelte 2,200 pounds, we're guessing that this S14 has no problem slinging around corners and lighting up the tires.
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7. Genuine JDM Silvia DNA
Despite its roots, this S14 sure looks like an S15. And that's by design. Brill Steel sourced all stock original Nissan body panels and went to the trouble of having them remade in carbon fiber just to recreate the look. A full complement of carbon fiber aero bits gives the car a menacing appearance, however. The plan is to use the car in a variety of drift competitions and time attack races across Europe, where we have no doubt it'll be successful. At the very least, it'll be one of the coolest looking cars in attendance, no matter where it goes!
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