It’s hard to think of a car that arrived with more hype than the R34 Nissan GT-R. By 1999 Nissan’s wonder-kid had ceased being the unknown Easterner capable of lapping the Nurburgring in eight minutes and was installed as a fully-functioning icon. Please call us for Nissan Skyline car insurance and enquire about adding track day cover to your policy.
The R34 carried with it a weight of expectation: car magazines clambered over themselves to get the first drive.
The first problem came when we saw the specification. This was the era of the silly 280hp limit on Japanese production cars, so amid all the fanfare, we were effectively left looking at a new model with an identical power output and an unimpressive 18lb ft increase in torque. Of course the reality was somewhat different: the cars had over 330bhp but Nissan just couldn’t communicate the increase.
Unexpectedly, given the mechanical similarities between R33 and R34, I intended to jump into the new car and immediately discover a new legend. This first journey happened to be a trip to the Nurburgring alongside a development Subaru P1, and from the off, the car felt very stiff and laggy. It was a UK V-Spec version, with the extra diff cooling and the leather interior. On the road it was fast, but didn’t actually feel noticeably faster than the last R33 I’d driven……..(continue by following link at the bottom of the page)
NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R R34 V-SPEC
Engine: 2,568cc 6-cylinder, twin-turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 289@4,400rpm
0-62mph: 5.2 sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,666kg
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Many thanks to Pistonheads for their kind permission to use the above – the full article can be found here.