R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R

There's nothing more painful in life than lusting after what you can't have. It has driven the strongest men to their doom, the most ethical sin, and the rest of us just plain crazy. American enthusiasts of Japanese cars have been dealing with this painful quandary for years, as high-performance street machines, not for sale in the States, regularly tease us from across the Pacific with head-turning good looks and high-horsepower engines. And this tragic tale has reached Shakespearean proportions with the introduction of the third-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R, a car that has already been labeled the best "allrounder" in the world by the Japanese and British press.

When Nissan introduced the Skyline GT-R (R32) to the Japanese market in 1989, the stylish all-wheel-drive sports car developed an immediate following. And no wonder, for they had created a car that blended everyday practicality with European elegance and head-snapping performance. The all-new Skyline GT-R (R34) is basically the same animal, only better in every way.

Recently I sampled the right-hand-drive Skyline GT-R V-Spec on the streets of Southern California, where the car both impressed me and every motorist I happened to pass.

Upon first sight it is obvious the Skyline GT-R is not your everyday sports coupe. It's low and wide, with flared fenders reminiscent of a Detroit muscle car. Its face is highlighted by an aggressive front air dam, housing a large intercooler, and slim canted headlights that seem to glare at you in anger. At the rear are the car's signature round taillights and a flashy rear wing with an adjustable carbon-fiber element. Contributing to the sporty appearance are low-profile Bridgestone Potenza 245/40 ZR-18 tires wrapped around 6-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels. The Skyline GT-R is not a small car (especially by Japanese standards), with overall length, width and height being 181.1, 70.3 and 53.5 in., respectively, which is about the size of a Mercedes-Benz CLK. Wheelbase measures 104.9 in.

Inside the sheet metal, things are kept conservative. The interior is simple and tastefully styled, highlighted by a large display screen that sits atop the center dash. This monitor can be configured to show a number of different functions, among them a turbo-boost gauge and a meter indicating the amount of torque going to the front wheels. The driver will find all controls are within easy reach and simple to operate. There's plenty of head room for front-seat occupants, and ample room for two children in the rear. Also, the cabin stays remarkably quiet, even at speeds in excess of 75mph. In fact, if it weren't for the body-hugging sport bucket seats, which are surprisingly comfortable and provide excellent lateral support, the Skyline GT-R's interior could easily be mistaken for that of a luxury coupe.

But a luxury coupe it is not, a fact made evident when mashing the accelerator pedal. Instantly, the car's four tires grab the tarmac and catapult the Skyline forward like an F-18 jet fighter. Once off the line, the Skyline's acceleration curve is smooth...and steep. The shift to 2nd gear is met with a chirp from the rear tires, and with a slight whistle from the turbochargers, a teeth-clenching surge slams you back into the seat.

Providing this acceleration is Nissan's twin-turbocharged 2.6-litre inline-6 that produces 277bhp at 6800rpm (280bhp DIN) and 293lb-ft of torque at 4400. (Although Nissan claims 277bhp, the Japanese maximum for production cars, we believe that the Skyline is pumping out as much as 320.) The engine comes mated to a solid-feeling Getrag 6-speed manual transmission with short throws and well-defined gates. At the test track, our bright blue test car ran to 60mph in just 5.2 seconds and reached the quarter mile in 13.7. Because our test car had only 350 miles on the odometer (and the engine hadn't properly broken in), we are confident that slightly faster acceleration times are possible after more mileage is accrued.

As impressive as the Nissan's performance is in a straight line, it lives for the twisty stuff. Thanks in part to its rock-solid structure and sport-tuned suspension system - MacPherson struts with an additional link up front, and a multilink setup at the rear - the Skyline turns in crisply while exhibiting minimal body roll. Then, Nissan's ATTESA all-wheel-drive system comes into play, distributing power to the front tires (via an active limited-slip differential with helical gears) when the rears lose their grip, providing a high level of safety and driver confidence through a corner, especially in the wet. Also assisting in this department is Nissan's Super HICAS 4-wheel-steering system that accounts for the Skyline's razor-sharp steering responses.

That said, Nissan has incorporated a fair amount of understeer into the handling. And although oversteer is easily induced by stomping the throttle in mid-turn, the Skyline corners in a safe and predictable manner. "Our main goal with the Skyline GT-R is to create the enjoyment of a front-engine/rear-drive car, while providing a level of safety that isn't possible in such a car," the product planning director of the Skyline GT-R said.

The Nissan registered 0.89g on the skidpad and danced through the slalom at 60.8 mph. Stopping the car are Brembo brakes with vented discs and ABS. They brought it to halt from 60mph in 120ft. and from 80mph in 204.

After a day on both road and track with the new Skyline GT-R, it's easy to see why the sporty Nissan is so popular in Japan... and it's catching on in the States. On a few occasions, kids in souped-up Hondas, who recognized the car, followed me to the office, wanting to check it out.

In Japan, the Skyline GT-R sells for approximately $45,000to $50,000, which is cheaper than a comparably equipped Porsche 911 Carrera. This prompts the question: Why didn't Nissan develop a left-hand-drive Skyline for the U.S. market? It's a mystery to me.

But where Nissan has declined, a company in Torrance, California, called MotoRex Inc., has accepted the challenge. It is making the Skyline GT-R (as well as the original and second-generation models) available in the U.S. The right-hand-drive, third-generation Skyline GT-R will be sold for $89,500 - putting it head-to-head with the Acura NSX and Porsche 911 Carrera 4.

It is currently 49-states legal (the company spokesman claims it will be 50-state legal this month). And, unlike most grey-market importers, MotoRex has actually crash-tested each version of the Skyline GT-R to meet federal require-ments, which means the company is quite serious about doing things by the book. Interested? Then call MotoRex at (310) 224-5085 or check out the company's website at www.skylinegtr.com.

Whether or not the car will officially be sold here by Nissan is, and will probably always be, a question mark (Ed JB: New V35 is sold in the US as the Infiniti G35). It's a shame because I feel that the all-new Nissan Skyline GT-R is the best Gran Turismo to ever come from the land of the rising sun. Still, for those who want the car badly enough, there is now a way.

- Sam Mitani
(July 1999)