The Samurai Spirit of the GT-R
If it weren't for Grand Turismo, Sony PlayStation's ground-breaking driving simulation game, it's doubtful the Skyline GT-R ever would have leapt from relative obscurity so rapidly. PlayStation gave us the chance to drive the GT-R at the Nürburgring, and we soon learned about Nissan's semi-covert quest to conquer the Nürburgring Nordschleife with the Skyline GT-R.
All these years later, the Skyline GT-R's performance at the Nordschleife is still controversial, cloaked in conjecture, rumor and gossip. Whether the GT-R R33 V-spec was running big boost, sticky tires or a tweaked chassis (or all three) is something we're unlikely to ever know, but it did turn a record lap of 7:59 in 1996 and make a hero out of Dirk Schoysman, the Belgian driver who played a pivotal role in the R33's development.
So we're going back to the scene of the GT-R's triumph, the place where the 2009 Nissaan GT-R recently made another statement of performance with a 7:38 lap in the hands of Toshio Suezaki.
Skyline Heritage
It's not a GT-R R33 but instead the R34 with which we revisit the site of the GT-R's triumph in 1996. Unlike the R32 and R33, the R34 was built largely for the demands of the Japanese market rather than the racetrack. This particular R34 is a surprisingly unmolested example that belongs to Nissan Great Britain. We remember the first time we drove one, more than a decade ago, and it looked quite unlike anything else at the time, all bulky and brutal with an explicit don't-mess-with-me aura.
As we circle Brussels on the way to Germany, the R34 brings an unmistakable flash of Blade Runner futurism to modern traffic. It still has the visual power to shock and intrigue. Gaping intakes, spiky wings and those signature taillights — all are exaggerated in a way that only the Skyline can carry off.
From behind the steering wheel, the R34's interior is still as amusing as ever. A large LCD screen displays quite a ridiculous array of information. It ranges from an endlessly amusing G-force meter and speed-trace graphic to the worrying minutiae of intake temperatures and fuel pressure.
This obsession with the engine's vital signs is rooted in the unholy tuning potential of the R34's twin-turbo 2.6-liter RB26 inline-6 engine, which was capable of pumping out well over 1,000 horsepower. Unfortunately this GT-R offers rather less power. Just as it did when it left the factory, the 24-valve DOHC 2,568cc inline-6 develops 276 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 289 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. It gets the R34 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, and the car runs out of speed at 168 mph.
Time might have mellowed the R34's looks, but its suspension remains as uncompromising as ever. Bumps, cat's eyes, road ruts, road camber and even white lines all send the front end into a frenzy of wobbling because of this all-wheel-drive car's unique steering geometry. On anything but completely smooth roads, the GT-R makes a Porsche 911 RS feel fluffy in comparison.
Another Gorgeous Day in Germany
November at the 'Ring is seldom blessed with clement weather, and we're faced with an ambient temperature so chilly that the intermittent drizzle becomes vicious snow flurries, making the 12.9-mile circuit's bewitching twists and turns absolutely treacherous. We check in for the day's track event with a squadron of Porsche drivers, and in the few moments it takes to pull on our crash helmet, we remember our promise to bring the R34 back to Britain in one piece.
"Oh, you'll be all right in this," says a Porsche driver, gesturing at the icy rain. "That thing's got some super-trick four-wheel drive, hasn't it?" Well, the GT-R R34 certainly does have ATTESA Pro all-wheel drive and Super HICAS four-wheel steering, but this combination never made the Skyline particularly easy to push to its lofty limits. Nor will it just "sort itself out if you just keep your foot in it," no matter how much some people want to believe it. Certainly not here at the Nordschleife, where a narrow strip of grass is all that separates the pavement from the cold, hard galvanized steel of the guardrails.
The Glorious Feeling of Invulnerability
For the first lap we're not ashamed to say we're virtually rigid with fear. The 3,435-pound R34 is almost constantly moving beneath us, like a shopping cart with four wonky wheels. It's quite unlike anything we've driven around here, and we're finding it nigh-on impossible to trust what the car is telling us, mainly because it can't seem to decide whether we're going to leave the circuit backward, forward or sideways.
We stay out for another lap, and another, and another. The perseverance pays off, and we gradually feel more in tune with what the GT-R is doing. It's still slithering around, but each exploratory poke of power and nudge of corrective lock helps us learn the Skyline's personality. The trick, it seems, is to let the car make its move and then allow it to settle down before applying steering correction.
It's a difficult but absorbing process, made all the more challenging by the Skyline's extensive repertoire of handling characteristics. Depending on your inputs on the way into a corner, it can exhibit turn-in understeer or oversteer, followed by power oversteer or lift-off oversteer or a long, languid four-wheel drift. And sometimes everything just happens in rapid succession.
Getting the best from this car takes a lot of effort, a lot of laps and a few big scares. But as you begin to gain confidence, there's huge satisfaction from making it work for you.
The Samurai Spirit
Though very few years have passed since the R34 was new, it feels like a car of the heroic age, a real samurai warrior. There's a satisfying sensation of heavy mechanical precision that encompasses the steering and the shift action. With every upshift of the six-speed gearbox, you feel tantalizing hints of the RB26 engine's muscle, and you just know that this six wants to breathe deeper, feeding those turbos and building a ferocious amount of boost.
With a little more midrange torque and top-end zing, the variable torque split of the all-wheel-drive system would have a bit more power to work with, which in turn would make the chassis that much easier to balance on the throttle. Then and only then would this demigod Skyline GT-R R34 become the full Godzilla.
There's no doubt that the new Nissan GT-R has power to capitalize on the reputation forged by its fabled ancestors, but we should remember that it has been built for a very different world and a very different driver. The Nissan GT-R makes speed easy, while the Skyline GT-R R34 made it a challenge.
What remains to be seen is whether the GT-R can stir the same emotions, or whether striving for global success will rob those three letters of their unrivalled cult appeal.
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