Our first local taste of a GT-R was in the year 2000 when Nissan imported a trio of R34 GT-Rs for demo purposes. Wilhelm Baard (a former circuit racing ace turned brand guru) helped with our testing procedures.
The blue beast that CAR tested was a V-Spec version, which added ATTESA ET-S Pro electronically controlled all-wheel drive and a rear LSD, as well as firmer suspension and decreased ground clearance. Its performance and grip levels were spectacular, especially round Killarney Racetrack. Unfortunately, because our test unit was a Japanese-spec model (and as such was limited to 180 km/h), it stumbled into that barrier in sixth gear at 4 100 r/min.
The GT-R’s official power and torque figures were often a mixed bag. The Japanese manufacturers’ gentlemen’s agreement stated that sportscars were limited to 206 kW, but private cars often showed readings of up to 240 kW and 420 N.m – the exact estimates for our test unit.
A summarised version of CAR’s final opinion was that this GTR possessed the “dynamics and build integrity to better comparable offerings from Munich and Zuffenhausen”.
Wilhelm was awesome during this photo shoot. He placed the car exactly where I asked him to and was able to throw this all-wheel drive monster sideways with all the ease of a drift racer – Ian McLaren
To read the test, open up the images below, right click and save to your desktop.
