KUHL Racing’s Custom Carved GT-R

Shops, People & Opinion

KUHL Racing ARTIS Nissan GT-R R35 (Photo by 7Tune)

KUHL Racing is known for their nutty paintjobs and over-the-top aggressive body stylings.

Words by Micky Slinger. Photos by 7Tune

KUHL’s GT86, which was shown off at last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, sported a silver metallic paint with engraving from ARTIS.

This “3D Ultimate Engraving Metal Paint” technique was used on an R35 GT-R for 2015’s iteration of the TAS. This time, things got wilder. The Love Lark “Aero Monster” kit was patterned with scales, crisscrosses, stripes, and even a floral design was worked onto the bulging front fenders.

KUHL Racing ARTIS Nissan GT-R R35 (Photo by 7Tune)KUHL Racing ARTIS Nissan GT-R R35 (Photo by 7Tune)

It’s not paint and it’s not carving. So, what is it? Intaglio printing. A surface, shaped to the curvature of the car’s panel to be “engraved”, is carved with the pattern that will be shown. The carved surface, which is pretty much a stamp at this point, is pressed into the panel on the car while it’s painted and gives this effect.

This same technique is used on money and those fancy business cars with embossed fonts, just on a much smaller scale. ARTIS has this down to a fine art.

And you thought getting your grandmother custom engraving on her iPad she doesn’t know how to work was impressive…

KUHL Racing ARTIS Nissan GT-R R35 (Photo by 7Tune)

Photos by 7Tune

Related Articles

LiquiMoly JDM Showcase & New Products at SEMA 2023 LiquiMoly JDM Showcase & New Products at SEMA 2023
Every year at SEMA we like to stop by our friends at LiquiMoly to see what they've got cooked up for the big show, and at SEMA 2023, they brought some...
New Trucks for Enthusiasts at CIAS 2024 New Trucks for Enthusiasts at CIAS 2024
The OEM landscape of available trucks changes yearly. The industry is in a state of constant change, and with each new model year, we find ourselves...
New Cars for Enthusiasts at CIAS 2024 New Cars for Enthusiasts at CIAS 2024
The OEM landscape changes every year, and as the tides shift to more automatics - and often less sportscars - we find ourselves yearning for new cars...
Shop Tour: YD Motorsports Shop Tour: YD Motorsports
YD Motorsports is a performance tuning shop in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. We originally met them at the Drive Festival at Toronto Motorsports Park when...
SEMA 2023: AMS Performance Alpha Z + Booth SEMA 2023: AMS Performance Alpha Z + Booth
AMS Performance is a name synonymous with high-powered GT-Rs bearing the "Alpha" moniker, but they've got their hands in all sorts of platforms from...
The Art of Livery Design with Design Shop REACT The Art of Livery Design with Design Shop REACT
Mike Martino is a name that some of our audience will be familiar with, having appeared in past video and print segments of PASMAG. An avid drifter by...