A Sunny Day in Perth With Matt’s Wild GTRs and 1000HP Patrol

There’s nothing better than travelling interstate and connecting with fellow car enthusiasts — especially when they happen to own some seriously impressive machines.

While in Perth, I caught up with our mate Matt, who we first met a few months ago when he visited Brisbane during one of our Cars and Coffee gatherings. Back then, he stopped in on his way home from a Cape trip to check out our cars. This time, it was our turn to see what he had tucked away in the garage.

And trust me — it did not disappoint.

The Legendary 8-Second GTR

One of the highlights of the day was finally seeing Matt’s orange Nissan Skyline GT-R in person.

I’d always heard it was a 9-second car, but it turns out it’s even quicker than that — running an 8.89-second pass around 10 years ago. Back in those days, an 8-second street-style GTR was seriously fast, long before six- and seven-second builds became more common.

The car hasn’t run in around eight years, but the plan now is to bring it back to life. Matt recently bought another GTR at auction to use as a donor car, stealing the driveline and components needed to get the orange monster moving again.

This donor setup reportedly makes around 1100 horsepower, with more still left in it.

Even better, Matt seems motivated again — and that’s exciting to hear.

Old-School Innovation

What made the orange GTR even cooler was hearing how much custom work went into building it back then.

Today, many parts are off-the-shelf. But when Matt built this car, he had to create solutions himself — including a custom dry sump system with a modified cast alloy sump.

Unfortunately, delays with engine work and missing race events slowed momentum over time, and the project sat idle while life moved on.

Now though, the spark is back.

The 1000HP Barrett Patrol “Party Bus”

If the GTR wasn’t enough, Matt also owns an outrageous Nissan Patrol — a lowered, street-focused beast making around 1000 horsepower.

Forget the typical lifted off-road Patrol setup.

This one runs:

• Lowered suspension
• Big sway bars
• Six-piston front brakes
• Semi-slick rear tyres
• Turbocharged Barra power
• E85 fuel setup

It’s basically a giant AWD GT-R in four-wheel-drive wagon form.

Matt swapped the sticky tyres back on before taking us for a drive, because on all-terrains it simply wouldn’t hook up.

And once we hit the road… it made perfect sense.

Fast, Loud and Ridiculously Fun

The Patrol absolutely rips.

It hooks hard, spins tyres when asked, leaves black lines on the road, and sounds wild doing it. On E85, the thing comes alive even more.

What makes it so fun is how unsuspecting it looks. Most people would never expect a Patrol to accelerate like that.

Matt called it the “Party Bus” — and honestly, that name suits it perfectly.

Good Cars, Good People, Good Weather

After some spirited driving, we grabbed lunch and enjoyed another perfect sunny Perth day.

Moments like these are what the car scene is all about — meeting great people, seeing unique builds, and sharing the passion no matter what side of the country you’re on.

Hopefully Round Two Soon

I jokingly told Matt that if he gets the orange GTR running again and takes it to Roll Racing Perth, I’ll fly back over to watch it run.

Truthfully… I probably would.

Huge thanks again to Matt for the hospitality, the rides, and showing us around. It was an unforgettable day and another reminder of how strong the Aussie car community really is.

– Chops