‘ The R33 Skyline GT-R was the first mass-produced car to break the eight-minute barrier at the Nürburgring with a time of 7 minutes 59 seconds’
Due to Japanese law, every generation of the Skyline GT-R had just 280hp. On paper, anyway
‘ The R33 Skyline GT-R was the first mass-produced car to break the eight-minute barrier at the Nürburgring with a time of 7 minutes 59 seconds’
Outside of Japan, the R32 won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1991 and then in 1992, despite a 140kg weight penalty and turbo pressure restrictions. It also took Bathurst 1000 victories in both years. It won the 1990 Macau Grand Prix from start to finish, and in Europe, the R32 took overall victory at the 1991 Spa 24 Hours. It was utterly ruthless in victory and its 600hp-or-more competition RB26DETT was simply monstrous. Thanks to this unrelenting dominance and speed, the press granted it the name: Godzilla.
With the world, and more importantly, race officials now aware of just how formidable the GT-R was on track, it was subjected to all sorts of performance-sapping restrictions or even outlawed entirely. The GT-R’ s incredible all-wheel-drive turbocharged-enhanced pace is partly why the entire Group A touring car category crumbled and the Super Touring rules took over.
That meant the following R33 and R34 generations of the GT-R weren’ t capable of making the same impact. That didn’ t stop Nissan from entering the GT-R into the world’ s most high-profile races. In 1995, a rear-wheel drive only R33 finished 10th at Le Mans – fifth in the GT1 class and only beaten by hypercar McLaren F1 GTRs, the car that also took the overall win. The year after, a 2.8-litre R33 finished 15th.
By the time of the R34, there were even fewer opportunities for the Skyline GT-R to shine on track. The R34, sporting big boxy arches and without four-wheel drive again, took part in the Japan Grand Touring Championship, winning the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in 2003.
Even though its prominence in motorsport declined, the GT-R’ s reputation has only ever strengthened. It punched above its weight and price bracket as a road car, and thanks to film and video game appearances, it has gained a fan base far beyond motorsport spectators. What keeps people fanatical about GT-Rs now, however, is that it’ s the darling of the tuning and aftermarket scene.
24 The Engine Rebuilder Issue 03