Chrome Temple adds ex-ATCC Skyline GT-R to investment fund

Chrome Temple, Australia’s only automotive investment fund, has added ‘Godzilla’ to its investment portfolio, with an ex-Group A Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R from the early 1990s recently acquired by the Sydney-based firm for their ‘Mach 1’ fund.

Noting the ever-increasing values for selected classic cars, Chrome Temple added the investment arm to their high-end car sales and storage business in 2021. Cars like the GT-R, once acquired, are held onto until such time as their optimum re-sale value is achieved. They are then sold to bring returns to investors. Since the fund’s inception, Chrome Temple claims returns of 37 per cent net.

Rather than Ferraris and Aston Martins from the 1960s, Mercedes-Benz 300 SLRs and the like, Chrome Temple focuses on ‘youngtimer’ classics like the Ferrari F355 and Lamborghini Diablo. The recent acquisition of this Group A R32 Skyline GT-R continues this approach.

While 100 R32 Skyline GT-Rs officially came to Australia in period, only five were prepared for Group A racing in the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC). Nissan Motorsport Australia (managed by Alan Heaphy, with Fred Gibson leading the engineering) took what was already a potent package and treated the twin-turbo six to modifications that dialled the engine’s 373kW up by almost 100kW. A six-speed Holinger gearbox was added, along with local suspension changes and other tweaks.

“Out of the box, the Nissan GT-R was a weapon – our task was to make it unbeatable,” recalled Alan Heaphy. “The learning curve for us 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 in 1990, we quickly turned our fortunes around and by 1991 the Fred Gibson developed GT-Rs were the vehicles to have – winning all but two races. We knew that our vehicles were the best in the world.”

Of the five GT-R chassis prepared by Nissan Motorsport Australia, the car acquired by Chrome Temple for an undisclosed seven-figure sum is chassis #4, which was the only ‘customer car’ Gibson produced. Commissioned by Bob Forbes Racing (aka GIO Racing) and costing a rumoured $1 million, #4 was driven by Mark Gibbs in the 1991 ATCC season, with Gibbs and Rohan Onslow sharing the driving duties in 1992. Across those two seasons, the best result for #4 was a third overall at Mallala in ’92, but Gibbs achieved many Top 10 finishes that year.

Across the same period, Jim Richards and Mark Skaife in the factory GT-Rs dominated, winning seven of nine rounds in 1991 and finishing 1-2 in the championship. In 1992, Skaife won four rounds to claim that year’s ATCC drivers’ title.

Today, only four of the five GT-Rs prepared by Gibson survive. Chassis #1 was written off in a crash in 1990. Chassis #2 was campaigned overseas for a period, but is now part of the Lindsay Fox Automotive Collection, while chassis #3 and #5 have been in the possession of Tony Alford for several years. Chassis #5, the car that Richards and Skaife drove to victory in the infamous 1992 Bathurst 1000, had been owned by Terry Ashwood for a period before it was purchased by Alford in 2014.

“Road going, Australian-delivered, Nissan R32 GT-Rs are in and of themselves highly collectible, but for the Mach 1 Fund to secure one of just five vehicles built for the Australian Touring Car Championship and four in existence is a sound investment,” said Chrome Temple CEO, Lex Pedersen.

“Within the Mach 1 Fund, we exclusively invest in vehicles that are exceptionally rare, highly collectable 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 Chrome Temple investment cars may be displayed and even exercised occasionally, they aren’t toys for investors to use at their whim.

“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.”

Chrome Temple says their Mach 1 Investment Fund is Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) compliant and has delivered investors +37 per cent net returns, representing 11 per cent net annual CAGR. The Fund is open to wholesale and institutional investors, including those with SMSFs.

For further information on Chrome Temple and the Mach 1 Fund, click HERE.