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Event Report

The 13th Annual GT Award Goes to the “1973 Datsun 240Z”

The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show is a custom car festival held in Las Vegas, US, every fall. It is here that the “GRAN TURISMO AWARDS SEMA” is held, where cars in line with the philosophy of “Gran Turismo” are chosen. This year, the 13th "Best in Show" award went to the “1973 Datsun 240Z”.

This car was built by the actor Sung Kang, who is known as an avid car enthusiast, together with his many friends. It began with a couple selling their 240Z in order to make renovations to their house; Sung Kang was the buyer of the vehicle and announced his dream of customising it with his friends on social media, attracting the interest of partners such as Greddy, TRA Kyoto and HiTech that volunteered to work on the car. This started a project to revive an over 40 year old car into modern day.

While the car sat in a garage for 15 years and was a good base to start with, it was stripped down to the frame for reinforcements. To this minimal interior, equipment such as seats and a roll cage were added, and it was given a full carbon interior. It is now powered by a naturally aspirated RB26 engine, and equipped with the latest in suspension systems. The highlight of the exterior are the Rocket Bunny overfenders made by TRA Kyoto. As a result of all their combined efforts, the 240Z was reborn into a custom masterpiece with a fierceness coming from the latest in street tuning trends, merged perfectly with classic looks.

The 1973 Datsun 240Z will be included in a future edition of Gran Turismo as a prize for winning the GT Awards. The 5 Class winners that were nominated for this year’s "Best in Show" were the following:

- Best Truck/SUV: 1968 Chevrolet C10 Pro Touring (Owner: Terry Rose)
- Best Domestic: 1970 Dodge Charger (Owner: David Salvaggio)
- Best Asian Import: 1973 Datsun 240Z (Owner: Sung Kang)
- Best European Import: 1985 BMW 535i (Owner: Michael Burroughs)
- Best Hot Rod: 1978 Ford Mustang Hard Top (Owner: Brett Behrens)

[GRAN TURISMO AWARD Previous Winners]
2003 Buick Special
2004 HPA Motorsports Stage II R32
2005 AEM S2000
2006 ArtMorrison Corvette '60
2007 HPA TT
2008 Infiniti G37
2009 Ford Mustang Trans-Cammer
2010 1969 Chevloret Camaro
2011 1971 Chevrolet Camaro
2012 Custom Ford Mach 40
2013 1967 Chevy Nova
2014 GoPro “Rampage” 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
2015 Datsun 240Z “Fugu Z”