Australia’s vehicle investment expert, Chrome Temple, has added an iconic touring car from the golden era of Australian motorsport to its Mach 1 Fund – a Group A Nissan R32 GT-R. As one of just five vehicles built by Fred Gibson’s Nissan Motorsport Australia team for the Australian Group A series, chassis number four, adorned in GIO Insurance livery was campaigned throughout 1991-92 by Mark Gibbs and Rohan Onslow.

Designed by Nissan and improved by its inhouse tuning boffins Nismo, the Nissan E-BNR32 (R32) GT-R was designed to dominate the incoming global Group A class racing – and did it ever. The rules called for a minimum of 500 ‘homologation’ vehicles to qualify for the category, but Nissan manufactured an additional sixty for racing purposes – of which the five made their way to Australia.

Widely regarded as the world’s best examples of Group A GT-Rs ever built, owing to the highly competitive series, the locally campaigned GT-Rs took on the best of Australia and Europe, laying waste to Holden, Ford and BMW throughout the ATCC.

Powered by Nissan’s now iconic RB26DETT (2.6L, twin-turbo, straight-six) engine, Group A R32s direct from Nismo in Japan pumped out 373kW of power, Fred Gibson’s cars developed almost 470kW of power.

But the Australian influence did not stop at the higher output, with Fred Gibson’s engineering wizards turning the vehicle first referred to as ‘the weapon’ into the car we know as ‘Godzilla’ through extensive local development of CV joints, suspension, and the adoption of local wheels and a six-speed Holinger gearbox.

Nissan Motorsport Australia’s team manager of the time, Alan Heaphy recalls “out of the box, the Nissan GT-R was a weapon – our task was to make it unbeatable. The learning curve for us at the time was almost vertical, but the Gibson team consisted of some of the most talented people I have ever
worked with,

“With a couple of false starts under our belt in 1990, we quickly turned our fortunes around and by 1991 the Fred Gibson developed GTRs were the vehicles to have – winning all but two races. We knew that our vehicles were the best in the world.” said Heaphy.

Commissioned by Bob Forbes at a rumoured total cost of $1,000,000 in 1991 (making it the most expensive Australian sports car for a great number of years), chassis number four is the only ‘customer car’ built by Nissan (Gibson) Motorsport Australia and remains one of just four cars still in existence after chassis number 1 was written off by Mark Skaife at the 1990 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide. At one point, chassis two left Australia and was campaigned in numerous rounds throughout Asia, including the 1992 Fuji 500 at Fuji Speedway in Japan.

Today, chassis number two resides in the Lindsay Fox Automotive Collection having been returned to Australia and restored to its ATCC livery. Chassis three and five remain in the possession of long-time owner Tony Alford who has no plans to relinquish the cars. Chrome Temple, Chief Executive Officer, Lex Pedersen said, “Road going, Australian-delivered, Nissan R32 GT-Rs are in and of themselves highly collectible, with just 100 delivered locally – but for the Mach 1 Fund to secure one of just five vehicles ever-built for the Australian Touring Car Championship and four in existence is a sound investment,

“Within the Mach 1 Fund, we exclusively invest in vehicles that are exceptionally rare, highly collectible, and possess impeccable provenance. The Bob Forbes, Mark Gibbs campaigned Group A Nissan R32 GT-R not only meets these criteria but surpasses them. While we would love to keep the car forever, the nature of the Fund requires that everything is acquired with an eventual liquidity exit in mind, targeting potential buyers both locally and globally, given the vehicle's broad appeal.” said Pedersen.

Founded in 2021 and the first of its kind in Australia, Chrome Temple Investments’ Mach 1 fund offers investors the opportunity to foster their passion for collectible vehicles while growing their wealth via stable, asset backed ‘alternative investments’ which are not typically feasible for individual investors.

Since its launch, the SMSF compliant Fund has delivered investors +37% net returns, representing 11% net annual CAGR*. The Fund is open to wholesale and institutional investors, including those with Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) – further information available from
https://www.chrometemple.com/the-fund
High-resolution imagery of CHROME TEMPLE brand imagery and a few shots from the recent shoot of the GIO car at the TEMPLE can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13wmT06WKqEeea_j3C3DSP8E1kBc8ftUy?usp=sharing

MEDIA CONTACT:
Lex Pedersen
M: +61 404 846 424
E: lex@chrometemple.com

Chrome Temple Investment Pty Ltd ACN 640 888 026, a corporate authorised representative (No. 001284056) of Specialised Investment and Lending Corporation Pty Ltd ACN 149 520 918 (AFSL 407100), is limited to providing general advice and deal by arranging services to wholesale clients relating to the Chrome Temple Mach 1 Fund (Fund) only. The use of this site is governed by a Terms of Use Disclaimer.

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*Calculated as the percentage difference in unit price as at 31 March 2024 compared to launch (May 2021) net of fees. Net CAGR considers timing of returns since launch.
^Funds under management represents current gross asset value.

ABOUT CHROME TEMPLE INVESTMENTS (CTi)
CHROME TEMPLE Investments (CTi) offers the opportunity to nurture your passion while growing your wealth. Focusing on a long-term uncorrelated return through investments in “last of the line” vehicles, the Mach 1 Fund is an alternative investment fund that allows you to diversify your portfolio with an anti-cyclical asset that has low volatility. And whilst CTi operates with a “Results Before Romance”
mentality, like with other luxury art collectables, you will be able to immerse yourself in the culture with exclusive octane fuelled and car collection viewing events