With the release of GT Sport 1.10, the game added a dozen new cars for players to race. One of the stand outs is the 2013 Gran Turismo Award winner, a 1967 Chevy Nova built by Chris Holstrom Concepts.
The Gran Turismo Award is handed out by Kazunori Yamauchi himself each year at SEMA. The winner is chosen from the best vehicles among five categories. For the lucky few that win the award, the prize is having their car immortalized in a future GT game.
Fans know there’s a bit of a backlog. Prior to the Nova, the last addition was the Pozzi MotorSports Camaro that made its way into GT6. The Camaro won the award at the 2011 SEMA show and since then Polyphony has added six more cars added to the list.
Since the development of a Gran Turismo game takes several years, it’s not surprising there’s a hefty list to get through. However, we are sure the builder of these cars are eager to see them in the hands of millions of gamers.
Chris Holstrom, the owner of CHC, is now finally getting his chance at seeing the digital version of his project take shape.
The story behind the Nova takes starts in the spring of 2011. The owner of the car, Phil Mitchell, wanted to see his beloved project finished. Up until that point, the only thing Mitchell did was install one of the first GM LS9 crate engines into the car. This is when he sought out the expertise of Holstrom.
The original plan for the car involved cutting out the floors and mounting the body on Art Morrison chassis. However, after finding the car had virtually no rust on it, Holstrom found another solution. With a call to Detroit Speed & Engineering, he secured thei new front subframe along with a QuadraLink rear suspension.
One of the main goals of the Nova build was to keep it looking as factory fresh as possible. The biggest issue with this was getting an OEM style hood to fit over the massive LS9 engine. With a large supercharger and overall bigger size than the stock 327, it took some finesse to make it work.
With the help of an Anvil Auto carbon fiber hood, CHC managed to make everything fit without any major issues.
The engine also got a little bit of love too, while they were at it. Originally the LS9 came with a whopping 638hp. With just an injector swap, it pushed the output to a staggering 700 ponies. Not only that, the engine is definitely still capable of more power. However, in an interview with SuperChevy magazine, Holstrom indicated that a 3,000lb car only needs so much.
Despite the stock-looking body, the Nova isn’t a total sleeper. To make sure everything else was up to par with the powerful engine and modern suspension, CHC went to work on the rest of the package.
For stopping power a set of 14-inch Baer brakes replaced the ancient drums. Then, to clear the massive rotors, CHC went with a set of RB3C Forgeline wheels with ContiSportContact 5P tires.
Since the car’s exterior was essentially flawless, the Nova needed a major interior refresh as well. With the help of McFarland Upholstery, a custom red leather interior made its way into the car.
Considering Kaz’s own passion for cars — so much so he recently took home an award for it — it’s little wonder why the CHC Nova won.
With the addition of the Nova to the game, it leaves us anxiously awaiting more GT Award winners to grace the car list. With the 2016 winner — a ‘51 Ford Coupe — scanned recently, hopefully, we won’t have to wait long.
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