Fast forward 11 years and Nissan's racing an "R"-badged model of its Skyline GTS in Group A competition, and looking to add a more powerful model to its repertoire. A 300-plus-hp 2.4L Inline-six and RWD drivetrain were originally planned, but when Group A regulations were revised in late '88, such a car would've been grouped in a class with a 10-inch-wide tire limit, so Nissan decided to add two more drive wheels for increased traction. The added weight of the system made the car heavier than its class rivals, so the decision was made to bump displacement to 2.6L, grouping it with heavier cars limited to 11-inch tires. Bonus. What rolled off factory assembly lines in a 560-unit "homologation" batch the following year (before entering full-scale production later) was the return of the GT-R: the E-BNR32, tipping scales at 3,146 pounds, claiming 276 whp and 266 lb-ft of torque from its twin-turbo 2.6L RB26DETT inline-six, and featuring a fully independent coil-over-strut/anti-roll bar suspension, the ATESSA AWD system of the Bluebird, and HICAS all-wheel steering from the '86 Skyline to improve turn-in. The new car won all 29 races it entered in its first year, and dominated the series from '89-'93, making Group A so uncompetitive that it was abolished altogether. The GT-R won the Australian Touring Car Champs from '90-'92, before being banned in '93, prompting Aussie mag Wheels to nickname it "Godzilla". It walked all over traditional six-figure European exotica, yet retained its mid-sized coupe styling and sold out of Japanese showrooms for little over $30K. Needless to say, it was a hit.
Subsequent generations saw the GT-R become the first production car to lap the Nurburgring in under eight minutes (E-BCNR33), become the JDM tuner's 215mph street machine of choice (GT-BNR34), and culminate in the 3.8-second 0-60, 195mph, 11.6-second quarter-mile Nissan GT-R of today, all with the utility and practicality that keeps the world confused about how to classify them.
Here's where the role-reversing dichotomy of this month's two cover cars hits full spool. Rather than the Japanese tuner refining his cherished NSX into an even better balanced, more subtle masterpiece than it already was, and the American going all-out power crazy with the GT-R he'd always dreamed of, we see the opposite-shattering preconceptions we've all had regarding which platform is dominant. Ignore the network of pie-cut titanium plumbing under the Cockpit Wako R34's hood, and the external Sard fuel pump and aluminum AN fittings feeding its built RB26DETT from the trunk; this machine was built with balance in mind, not overbearing power. Its build began by addressing the R34's often criticized weak point first-its weight. A carbon fiber hood and fenders, and custom dry carbon front bumper, trunk and doors replace heavy stock units. Custom carbon replacement door panels join lightweight Recaros in an interior that remains surprisingly intact for a competition car. Even all piping to and from the engine bay, with the exception of a Trust stainless turbo manifold, has been replaced with lightweight titanium, so that when the over-bored RB26 and its two Trust turbochargers roar to life, the GT-R takes off at the pace of a much smaller car.
More impressive-and important, in the cockpit crew's eyes-is that it handles like a smaller car, too. The Sachs adjustable dampers and Hyperco springs were set up in FWD fashion, to bring about oversteer on tight circuits as if by thought alone. Chassis stiffening was suited to match, yet also maintains the M.O. of light weight, through the use of structural foam and a custom bolt-in cage that allows just what's needed to be added on race day. And if you thought a stock R34 brakes on a dime, try one tipping the scales at a fraction of the weight, fitted with 355/343mm two-piece Brembo rotors with six/four-piston calipers (front and rear, respectively), and ultra-sticky 265-series bridgestone Potenza RE-11 rubber.
By Luke Munnell
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