CROSS POLLINATION

CHRIS ETHELL'S VL COMMODORE MAKES 1000RWHP WITH A JAPANESE INLINE SIX, BUT THERE'S NO RB TO BE SEEN

- KIAN HEAGNEY

THE BARRA versus LS rivalry has been a mainstay of Australia’s modified car scene for close to two decades, but in the Japanese tuner scene, a much longer battle has been raging, with Nissan’s RB and the Toyota JZ vying for force-fed straight-six supremacy. Chris Ethell’s VL Commodore kicks that rivalry up a notch, taking one of the most revered RB-powered cars of all time and slapping 1000rwhp worth of 2JZ under the bonnet.

“I’d say most people aren’t that angry about it, but I have had some purists get upset at me,” Chris says. “I will admit it was on the cards to upset people with the JZ.”

If it’s any consolation to the RB faithful, Chris did initially have intentions of putting a hot RB25 turbo and manual into the VL. “I was going to replicate another VL I previously had with an RB20 that was also very unassuming, but after I bought this new VL, I decided I’d rather have the car remain an auto,” he says. “So, the RB stuff went into an S14, and then Scott Hoffman talked me into a JZ for the VL.”