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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 labelled the best "all-rounder" 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.
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.
That said, Nissan has incorporated a fair
amount of under steer into the handling. And although over steer 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
skid pad 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.
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.
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 US in 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) |
