The Thing GT-R Is An Insane Nissan-VW Mashup

Do you ever ask yourself what you would buy or build when the price is no object? Sure we all have our top 10 dream garage of unobtainable supercars but after all the production car hype, a dose of your creativity and personality might be missing. Not the case with Tim Schmidt from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who is infamous for an incredible car collection of what HE wants to build. Not what Instagram says, or not like the average Supercar owner trying to keep them all stock to maintain resale but an eclectic collection that is just for himself. Or in the case of this outrageous VW Thing with Nissan GT-R power for anyone who craves ridiculous speed.

No, you are not losing your mind, this VW tin can actually has GT-R power. And a complete R35 chassis and driveline underneath. Words cannot describe just how radical this project is.

“Well my GT-R was burned in a fire in May of 2019,” says Schmidt, a former owner of an automotive plastics business. “But I heard the firefighters were able to start the GT-R. I couldn’t believe it, I knew I just had to have it back. So I contacted the insurance company and agreed on a $20,000 USD buy-back.”

It was great to hear that no one was harmed in the house fire at Schmidt’s Fort Lauderdale, FL vacation home. But sadly, many toys were lost there including the R35, a Porsche 911 Cab, a 1-of-1 Ares Design Bentley Mulsanne Coupe, Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, and many electric toys.

“I thought well I have this running and driving crispy GT-R and I have this VW Thing,” Schmidt recalled. “Why not find a capable builder and put the two cars together to make a crazy cruiser?”

Schmidt then turned to capable rat-rod shop Oddball Customs in Uxbridge, Ontario to start the project. One burnt 2017 Nissan GT-R with a 700-horsepower V6 twin-turbo and one 1974 VW Thing were about to be grafted together. Fabricator Stony Balogna Smith got to work shortening the R35 chassis by 16 inches and widening the all-metal body Thing. At just under 2,000 pounds, 700 hp puts it in supercar power-to-weight territory.

The Thing GT-R has taken over a year to get to this point and the cost hasn’t been totaled because the build wasn’t about the bottom line. Although the Thing GT-R runs and drives, the project still has a few finishing touches to complete including adding upholstery bits, the custom convertible top installed, and a basic 4-wheel alignment. But this is a very early look at possibly the craziest custom coach-built GT-R ever constructed.