By Ainsley Jacobs
Photographs by Kevin Cox
issan’s GTR platform has a
long and storied history.
From its racing heritage to
its royal affiliation, the leg-
endary Japanese car has
evolved over decades and
earned a reputation worthy of the nickname “Godzil-
la.” Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based racer Tuan
Ho’s 2009 Nissan GTR takes that moniker one step
further in the form of a 1,300-plus horsepower, fire-
breathing beast.
The 34-year-old Ho isn’t new to the import scene.
He’s paid his dues over the years with many inter-
esting cars, including a turbocharged, GSR-powered
’97 Acura Integra that pushed 833 horsepower to
its front wheels using E85 85 fuel. Further propelling
his Japanese car craze, in the mid-2000s, Ho and a
friend started up Top End, a shop to serve the local
import scene. “I had worked out of my garage before
then, so there was a big learning curve being self-
employed and I was a little over my head since it
was such a big shop,” Ho admits now.
After just a few years, Ho chose to close the shop
and with a new plan in mind he went back to school
and got involved with his father’s business. “My dad
owns some gas stations and I wound up owning a
couple, then I sold one and got into the liquor store
business. Now I have a liquor store, a gas station,
and just recently got into car washes,” says the
incredibly diversified and entrepreneurial-minded
young man.
Eventually, Ho realized that his Integra was more
of a track car and since he was looking for some-
thing more streetable, it was out with the old and
in with the new by way of a 2009 Cadillac CS-V.
After enjoying that for a while, Ho had to choose
between making the Caddy faster or buying some-
thing else. He went with the latter option.
62
STREETRACE
HO HAD TO
CHOOSE
BETWEEN
MAKING THE
CADDY
FASTER OR
BUYING
SOMETHING
ELSE. HE
WENT WITH
THE LATTER
OPTION.