Christian Valtonen certainly knows how a thing or two about presence. Perhaps it’s his interest in the outlandish and the exciting that drew him first to drifting, where his Mazda FD3S served him well for many years. After getting bit by the time attack bug, his then-gold RX-7 underwent the necessary changes to become a machine more accustomed to late-braking and tidy laps. With a naked carbon exterior, more aero than a GT3 car, and an unconventional powerplant, this masterfully-executed FD takes the cake in more ways than one.

Gold Enkei RPF-1 wheels up front and naked black carbon bodywork looks stunning.

Even standing still, the carbon time attacker is a moving thing to behold. Every body panel, though visibly designed for downforce, still evokes the FD’s classic lines. The louvered fenders put this particular car in the uppermost category of time attack machines, and when observing the car with some of the bodywork removed to expose the tube frame front, it’s hard to believe it started life as a street car. Frankly, it looks like something designed exclusively for GT racing.

While the gorgeous bodywork might turn heads in the pits, the on-track performance will make jaws drop. Lightened substantially and powered by a highly-modified SR20DET powering the rear wheels through a Tractive RD90 five-speed sequential gearbox, the straight line speed this car is capable of is astonishing. However, it’s not simply a dragster, and all that weight reduction and downforce plays a huge role in making this car grip. The response and agility of this machine is really on-par with modern GT cars. The 300-section rear slicks help put all that torque from the turbocharged engine to the road, and yet, the car looks nervous, unforgiving and twitchy, like a real racing car.