The Nissan Skyline GT-R is dead. Realize that fact, absorb it, send us nasty hate mail-we don't care. Until another Skyline GT-R is designed and manufactured, the old R34 model is still the ubiquitous face of Nissan motorsport activities worldwide. However, the legend of the GT-R was not forged in marketing brainstorm sessions or on the streets of Tokyo. The GT-R moniker was polished in competition-the fire breathing, metal crunching, rubber melting kind of competition. In events of strength and power the GT-R punished in such a dominant fashion that the Skyline GT-R found itself banned from many race series. Shunned from many that is, but not the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. The JGTC welcomed the Skyline GT-R with open arms, where the Nissan battled its fiercest enemy, the Toyota Supra, for years.
That is, until it came time for a new car to take over the reigns. With the Skyline GT-R gone, it fell to the Z33 Fairlady Z (the 350Z in the U.S. market) to step up and carry the crown for Nissan and its performance subsidiary Nismo. The JGTC is separated into two different classes, GT300 and GT500, based on power output levels. Classified into the more powerful GT500 class, the red Nismo Z is represented by one of the only true manufacturer-supported works teams racing in the JGTC. Years spent racing worldwide teach you a thing or two about car preparation and thusly equipped, Nismo attempted to turn the Z into a car worthy of matching and even surpassing the GT-R in on-track prowess. They are trying to make us look towards the future so to speak.
With less than 300-hp stock, how does a Z hold its own in the major league ranks of the GT500 class? With twin turbochargers, of course. But twin-turbo Z's have yet to make that kind of power and live through something as tough as the JGTC, right? Yes, but JGTC rules allow for some pretty wild modifications. The VQ35 engine could not have easily survived under these conditions with two turbochargers attached to it. Therefore, the motor was changed in favor of a VQ30DETT 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine that was designed to handle boost. With a 93mm bore and 73.3mm stroke, the 2987cc engine breathes through a pair of mandated 29.6mm restrictors, producing over 465 hp at 5600 rpm and over 520 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. With a 5.5-inch triple-plate carbon clutch and a six-speed sequential transmission, the drivetrain in this car bears little resemblance to a stock street Z.
The most striking feature about the JGTC-spec Z is the intricate bodywork. With a widened track, a massive rear wing, an extensive aero package, and a body molded far beyond those of mortal Z's, the GT500 Z almost doesn't look like a Z at all. Taking full advantage of JGTC rules, the body has wheel arches that practically poke out above the front hood line, heat extractors on much of the bodywork, splitters, dams, and carbon fiber body pieces everywhere. A concentrated effort, the bodywork is designed to look good, keep cool air flowing, help with aerodynamic smoothness, and add downforce while reducing drag.