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I've written this for a new article for Cardomain, and thought I'd share it with all you nice folks before it hits the main page.
Enjoy guys!
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Forget Wikipedia. Forget Encyclopedia Brittanica. Forget your Phsyics Professor, and his odd ability to recite every car ever made since 1901. This is going to be an in your face and in depth analysis on one of the most prominent and well known Japanese sports cars of the 1990’s. And unlike my BNR32 GT-R N1 Post, this will be more of a test drive, and a heavy duty knowledge dose, if you will. So sit back, put on your glasses, pull out your pipe, stir that tea, and get ready for a thrilling read about what in my opinion is the best drivers car ever made: The Nissan Skyline BNR32 GT-R.
Continue Reading After a Quick Jump!
Everyone knows about the R35 GT-R, with it’s side splitting power, speed, and handling, it is a great car. Yet many a sports car enthusiast looks at an R35 and questions it’s true driveability. With so much computerized technowizardry under the hood, it may as well be a Playstation 3 on wheels. Heck, even Polyphony Digital, the creators of the famed Gran Turismo series, helped design the Digital Performance Display layout of the car. And when it came time to dial down the power, the ECU codes were considered so heavy and so strong, that not even the greatest tuner could bypass them (contrary to what we have seen now, of course). These sports car enthusiasts, they see something more akin to a computer then a car, and for that, I ask them to take a step back in time, and look at the first modern GT-R offering from Nissan, a company which at the time, was barely alive, yet still had the motorsports setting dialed to 11 out of 10. This offering was the first of a range of vehicles that many would come to know and love, and it’s the Skyline R32 GT-R.
The Skyline name itself was a well worn out tool when the BNR32 was first offered to the public, however, the name carried a racing heritage that transcended through time, back to the decade of hippies and sunflowers. In the late 60’s, Nissan Motor Co. had set out to get their name into racing, and entered a touring series in Japan. Their entry was their brand new Skyline 2000GTB/GT sedan, a small but lightweight offering, that offered decent performance at a better then decent price.
So the Skyline name formulated itself… through the 60’s, 70’s, and even the early 80’s, it gave way to performance variants and racing machines that all bore a faint resemblance to a box, which of course, was the whole idea behind the Hakosuka (KPGC10) GT-R, which literally meant, “Box Skyline”. The GT-R lineage too, was, well to say the least, a very strong one. The original KPCG10 GT-R had risen up in 1969 as a four door sedan, only to enter the 2 door racing coupe series in Japan in 1971. It’s amazing wins and brilliant engine was well known throughout the racing world in Japan, and even Keiichi Tsuchiya used to sneak down from his parents house, ride his bike to the track, and watch them drive around in circles, only to tell himself that he one day too would own the car.
In any case, in the summer of 1988, Nissan debuted the brand new R32 Range of Skyline’s. This time though, Nissan had secretly been working on the BNR32 GT-R range, codenaming it GT-X and running it around the tracks in Japan in stripped out N1 style trim, with GT-S front bumpers, and large intercooler cutouts. Everything this car was, was everything Nissan wanted to have in a sports car itself. Originally, the engine was to be a boosted RB24 unit, essentially a stroked RB20 unit. However, Nissan found out that they could enter a new class in the N1 racing series by upping their displacement to 2.6 liters, so they went to work on developing a brand new fully fortified Cast Iron Block for the car, and using their well know code setup, dubbed it the RB26DETT, for 2.6 Liter Double Overhead Cam Electronic Fuel Injected Twin Turbo Unit.
By the time the BNR32 hit the market, it was rated at a delicious and over the top 276 Horsepower, which was in essence, a very well known lie. Back in 1989, the Japan Automotive Association had made an agreement with all of the countries manufacturers not to put an engine in a passenger car that exceeded what at the time was Japan’s most powerful cars output: The 276 Horsepower VG30DETT found in the Z32 Nissan Fairlady. An agreement was struck, and 300PS was the max allowed output of any engine produced at the time.
This was not the case with the BNR32 however, as it may have wore the title of having 280 Horsepower, but in reality was breaching 320, if not more. Performance was stellar, making the car a worthy competitor to cars 5 years down the line from top manufacturers. 0-60 in 4.7 Seconds, and a top speed of 175 Miles Per Hour were all hallmarks of a car that was set to take the Supercar podium. The GT-R took it one step further however, with the announcement of “Super HICAS” – An earth shattering super handling system that adjusted the turning radius of the rear wheels based on the force loaded onto them at the speed of which they travel. At over 75 miles per hour, this would adjust into the rear wheels turning the same way as the front wheels, in order to propel the car through the corner in a more controllable flow of angle.
As if Super HICAS wasn’t enough, Nissan had also retrofitted the then new GT-R with the ATTESA E-TS System, which stood for “Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All-Terrain”, making the 4WD system sense viscious braking, acceleration, and turning lock, and adjusting the power to each wheel seperately, in order to balance the cars performance, and maintain optimum traction, agility, and weight balance.
The most popular color for the new GT-R was a very stale Gun Metal Grey Metallic, which did little to make the rather boxy two door coupe look sporty. Something about the color seemed to set off the GT-R mystique however, making the car appear more sedate then it truly was. Once you had a go at it, you would have quickly understood the potential that lay underneath. A quarter mile time in the low 13 second/high 12 second range was an added bonus, as was the .88G’s available around the skidpad. Even the V-Spec models added Brembo brakes to the plate, enhancing stopping performance.
If you’re looking to purchase a BNR32 though, I give a word of advice. The car beholds a viscious temper. While the new GT-R may be programmed to be suitable for every driver, the lack (yet surprisingly large amount of for the time) of electronic technowizardry underneath the BNR32 does prove to be disasterous, if not fatal at times. Lifting off the gas mid turn for example, can cause the rear end to slide, and if you’re an inexperienced driver, slamming on the brakes can only worsen the experience. The BNR32 also has a tendency to snap back strongly coming out of a controlled drift, which can cause people to overreact and try to correct and oversteer, when there in fact isn’t one. Another habit of BNR32’s is their fuel pumps, which if original, can and likely will seize sooner or later, resulting in a hefty theft from your wallet or bank account. In a straight line, the power can be abrupt, a trait which most GT-R owners love, but may surprise some. The shifts are angry, and the boost builds heavy, but it’s just another joy brought on by the GT-R that owners love them for.
You can find BNR32’s in the U.S. now, but watch for Black Market Canadian examples. Just because it’s there in the U.S. does not mean it’s legally there. In the U.S. there is a 25 year old JDM Rule, and the BNR32 has only just passed 20 years of age. If you see one driving around, there’s a good chance it shouldn’t be, and may likely be one of the 15 year old plus examples from Canada. If you do find a genuine BNR32, legalized by RB Motoring or the now defunct MotoRex, look at paying at least 35,000 dollars for one in good decent shape. If you’re in Canada, one can be found for as low as $8000 dollars, but your best bet is to go for one costing more in the region of 15-20,000 dollars. In the UK, you can find ones trading hands privately for as low as 4500GBP for a decent example. And in Japan, you’re looking at about 250,000 Yen for a driveable, fun, slightly worn weekend track car.
Watch it though, as the price of ownership can quickly rise. GT-R’s have a bad tendency to break things, and as reliable as some people may have told you they are, they truely aren’t. You’re looking at a car that can be fun and great for awhile, until you need a new clutch, or new brakes, or new lines, or a new harness, or a new HICAS sensor, or a new turbine… etc. When you buy a BNR32, make sure to have some money saved up for repairs, because in all likelyhood they will come. Don’t push the car past 1.2 bar, and even that in itself is high. Always do a proper oil change, and maintain the car to the best of your abilities.
If you do finally end up getting a BNR32, I can tell you without a doubt, that although there are many niggles and little problems that may arise, it’s only as many as any 20 year old car will give you. The performance is still to this day pretty mind bending, keeping up with most high end sports sedans and GT’s, for a fraction of the price. It may not be as comfortable, and for some, the steering wheel may be on the wrong side, but when all is said and done, you have a middle range GT-R – Not as slow as the BCNR33, but not as fast as the BNR34. The one thing without a doubt you will love, is when you stomp on that throttle, and build the boost. It’s a feeling that almost no other car can replicate. Well… besides an FD3S RX-7. But that’s another story, for another time.
Enjoy guys!
------------------
Forget Wikipedia. Forget Encyclopedia Brittanica. Forget your Phsyics Professor, and his odd ability to recite every car ever made since 1901. This is going to be an in your face and in depth analysis on one of the most prominent and well known Japanese sports cars of the 1990’s. And unlike my BNR32 GT-R N1 Post, this will be more of a test drive, and a heavy duty knowledge dose, if you will. So sit back, put on your glasses, pull out your pipe, stir that tea, and get ready for a thrilling read about what in my opinion is the best drivers car ever made: The Nissan Skyline BNR32 GT-R.
Continue Reading After a Quick Jump!
Everyone knows about the R35 GT-R, with it’s side splitting power, speed, and handling, it is a great car. Yet many a sports car enthusiast looks at an R35 and questions it’s true driveability. With so much computerized technowizardry under the hood, it may as well be a Playstation 3 on wheels. Heck, even Polyphony Digital, the creators of the famed Gran Turismo series, helped design the Digital Performance Display layout of the car. And when it came time to dial down the power, the ECU codes were considered so heavy and so strong, that not even the greatest tuner could bypass them (contrary to what we have seen now, of course). These sports car enthusiasts, they see something more akin to a computer then a car, and for that, I ask them to take a step back in time, and look at the first modern GT-R offering from Nissan, a company which at the time, was barely alive, yet still had the motorsports setting dialed to 11 out of 10. This offering was the first of a range of vehicles that many would come to know and love, and it’s the Skyline R32 GT-R.
The Skyline name itself was a well worn out tool when the BNR32 was first offered to the public, however, the name carried a racing heritage that transcended through time, back to the decade of hippies and sunflowers. In the late 60’s, Nissan Motor Co. had set out to get their name into racing, and entered a touring series in Japan. Their entry was their brand new Skyline 2000GTB/GT sedan, a small but lightweight offering, that offered decent performance at a better then decent price.
So the Skyline name formulated itself… through the 60’s, 70’s, and even the early 80’s, it gave way to performance variants and racing machines that all bore a faint resemblance to a box, which of course, was the whole idea behind the Hakosuka (KPGC10) GT-R, which literally meant, “Box Skyline”. The GT-R lineage too, was, well to say the least, a very strong one. The original KPCG10 GT-R had risen up in 1969 as a four door sedan, only to enter the 2 door racing coupe series in Japan in 1971. It’s amazing wins and brilliant engine was well known throughout the racing world in Japan, and even Keiichi Tsuchiya used to sneak down from his parents house, ride his bike to the track, and watch them drive around in circles, only to tell himself that he one day too would own the car.
In any case, in the summer of 1988, Nissan debuted the brand new R32 Range of Skyline’s. This time though, Nissan had secretly been working on the BNR32 GT-R range, codenaming it GT-X and running it around the tracks in Japan in stripped out N1 style trim, with GT-S front bumpers, and large intercooler cutouts. Everything this car was, was everything Nissan wanted to have in a sports car itself. Originally, the engine was to be a boosted RB24 unit, essentially a stroked RB20 unit. However, Nissan found out that they could enter a new class in the N1 racing series by upping their displacement to 2.6 liters, so they went to work on developing a brand new fully fortified Cast Iron Block for the car, and using their well know code setup, dubbed it the RB26DETT, for 2.6 Liter Double Overhead Cam Electronic Fuel Injected Twin Turbo Unit.
By the time the BNR32 hit the market, it was rated at a delicious and over the top 276 Horsepower, which was in essence, a very well known lie. Back in 1989, the Japan Automotive Association had made an agreement with all of the countries manufacturers not to put an engine in a passenger car that exceeded what at the time was Japan’s most powerful cars output: The 276 Horsepower VG30DETT found in the Z32 Nissan Fairlady. An agreement was struck, and 300PS was the max allowed output of any engine produced at the time.
This was not the case with the BNR32 however, as it may have wore the title of having 280 Horsepower, but in reality was breaching 320, if not more. Performance was stellar, making the car a worthy competitor to cars 5 years down the line from top manufacturers. 0-60 in 4.7 Seconds, and a top speed of 175 Miles Per Hour were all hallmarks of a car that was set to take the Supercar podium. The GT-R took it one step further however, with the announcement of “Super HICAS” – An earth shattering super handling system that adjusted the turning radius of the rear wheels based on the force loaded onto them at the speed of which they travel. At over 75 miles per hour, this would adjust into the rear wheels turning the same way as the front wheels, in order to propel the car through the corner in a more controllable flow of angle.
As if Super HICAS wasn’t enough, Nissan had also retrofitted the then new GT-R with the ATTESA E-TS System, which stood for “Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All-Terrain”, making the 4WD system sense viscious braking, acceleration, and turning lock, and adjusting the power to each wheel seperately, in order to balance the cars performance, and maintain optimum traction, agility, and weight balance.
The most popular color for the new GT-R was a very stale Gun Metal Grey Metallic, which did little to make the rather boxy two door coupe look sporty. Something about the color seemed to set off the GT-R mystique however, making the car appear more sedate then it truly was. Once you had a go at it, you would have quickly understood the potential that lay underneath. A quarter mile time in the low 13 second/high 12 second range was an added bonus, as was the .88G’s available around the skidpad. Even the V-Spec models added Brembo brakes to the plate, enhancing stopping performance.
If you’re looking to purchase a BNR32 though, I give a word of advice. The car beholds a viscious temper. While the new GT-R may be programmed to be suitable for every driver, the lack (yet surprisingly large amount of for the time) of electronic technowizardry underneath the BNR32 does prove to be disasterous, if not fatal at times. Lifting off the gas mid turn for example, can cause the rear end to slide, and if you’re an inexperienced driver, slamming on the brakes can only worsen the experience. The BNR32 also has a tendency to snap back strongly coming out of a controlled drift, which can cause people to overreact and try to correct and oversteer, when there in fact isn’t one. Another habit of BNR32’s is their fuel pumps, which if original, can and likely will seize sooner or later, resulting in a hefty theft from your wallet or bank account. In a straight line, the power can be abrupt, a trait which most GT-R owners love, but may surprise some. The shifts are angry, and the boost builds heavy, but it’s just another joy brought on by the GT-R that owners love them for.
You can find BNR32’s in the U.S. now, but watch for Black Market Canadian examples. Just because it’s there in the U.S. does not mean it’s legally there. In the U.S. there is a 25 year old JDM Rule, and the BNR32 has only just passed 20 years of age. If you see one driving around, there’s a good chance it shouldn’t be, and may likely be one of the 15 year old plus examples from Canada. If you do find a genuine BNR32, legalized by RB Motoring or the now defunct MotoRex, look at paying at least 35,000 dollars for one in good decent shape. If you’re in Canada, one can be found for as low as $8000 dollars, but your best bet is to go for one costing more in the region of 15-20,000 dollars. In the UK, you can find ones trading hands privately for as low as 4500GBP for a decent example. And in Japan, you’re looking at about 250,000 Yen for a driveable, fun, slightly worn weekend track car.
Watch it though, as the price of ownership can quickly rise. GT-R’s have a bad tendency to break things, and as reliable as some people may have told you they are, they truely aren’t. You’re looking at a car that can be fun and great for awhile, until you need a new clutch, or new brakes, or new lines, or a new harness, or a new HICAS sensor, or a new turbine… etc. When you buy a BNR32, make sure to have some money saved up for repairs, because in all likelyhood they will come. Don’t push the car past 1.2 bar, and even that in itself is high. Always do a proper oil change, and maintain the car to the best of your abilities.
If you do finally end up getting a BNR32, I can tell you without a doubt, that although there are many niggles and little problems that may arise, it’s only as many as any 20 year old car will give you. The performance is still to this day pretty mind bending, keeping up with most high end sports sedans and GT’s, for a fraction of the price. It may not be as comfortable, and for some, the steering wheel may be on the wrong side, but when all is said and done, you have a middle range GT-R – Not as slow as the BCNR33, but not as fast as the BNR34. The one thing without a doubt you will love, is when you stomp on that throttle, and build the boost. It’s a feeling that almost no other car can replicate. Well… besides an FD3S RX-7. But that’s another story, for another time.
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