| 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II Nür
Although the car pictured in these photos was never officially imported into the States, any auto enthusiast worth his salt will be able to tell you what it is. Whether from Gran Turismo or Project Gotham Racing, the Skyline GT-R should be instantly recognizable to gamers. Some may even recall the racing victories these cars racked up overseas. But Americans were never able to walk into a showroom and buy one for themselves. The Skylines, perhaps because of this forbidden fruit quality have achieved such a mythic level of admiration that seeing one on these shores can make semi-grown men weep.
For those that might need a refresher course in all things Skyline, a brief recap beginning on the track. The earliest predecessor of the GT-R, the S54 2000 GT-B, finished second in its first race in 1964, behind only the Porsche 904 GTS race car. It went on to garner its fair share of wins. So Skylines have had a long association with racing and the winner’s circle. The subject of our feature, the brutally fast GT-R model, debuted in 1989 to compete in the Japan Touring Car (JTC) Group A racing series. The GT-R won every race it entered for 4 straight years with a record of 29 wins out of 29 races. By 1994 this dominance earned the Skyline its own racing class, the Japan GT car (JGTC) series.
During that time the GT-Rs were also run around Europe. The 1991 24 hours of Nürburgring marked the first time a Skyline GT-R was entered officially and it won the Group N class. Later that year at the Spa Francorchamps 24-hour endurance race, the GT-R did even better, winning overall, in the process beating the more powerful Group A and Group N1 cars. Back at home the Skyline’s dominance was overwhelming. From 1991 -1997 the GT-R was undefeated in N1 endurance racing with 50 wins. And those wins translated into a lot of demand in Nissan showrooms.
When it debuted in 1989, the Nissan Skyline GT-R was dubbed "Godzilla" by Wheels magazine in Australia, and the nickname stuck. It was outlandish and powerful and so very Japanese. It provided performance and handling to rival Porsches and Ferraris, at a considerably lower price. In Japan the Skyline's closest competitors were the NSX, Supra, and RX-7, and later the EVO and WRX STi. None of these had that certain something that set the GT-R apart. From 1989 -1999 there were 3 models of Skyline GT-R produced - the R32, R33, and the R34. Each featured the RB26DETT engine, ATTESA E-TS all-wheel- drive system, and Nissan's Super HICAS four-wheel-steering system.
The engine in all but a few GT-Rs was a 2.6-liter, dohc, 24-valve, inline-6 with twin lightweight steel/ceramic turbos, and an intercooler pushing it to produce 276 hp @ 6800 rpm in stock trim, but capable of handling over 600 hp without internal modifications.
The ATTESA E-TS system is a big part of what makes the GT-R special. It is an ultra-sophisticated, electronically-controlled, all-wheel- drive system. Under normal conditions the car is essentially rear- wheel-drive, but when the computer senses a need, it automatically sends up to half of the torque to the front wheels. The Pro version of this system, available on the R33 and R34, includes a more aggressive computer map and an electronically-controlled, limited- slip differential in the rear end. |
