Cars, City & Coffee: S1 Ep. 3
27.04.2024
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Leo Volante
Karakura News
Introduction
Last Report I reviewed the Itsbyoshi Dealership’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, in this report we will be reviewing a car that belongs to a viewer of the series who asked to be referred to as ‘Mayo’ and he allowed me to put his 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R for testing and review, but before we dealt deeper about the car, let’s talk about it’s history with Mayo themselves.Mayo as of right now are still in college, and from such a young age, he has been dreaming of purchasing a Nissan Skyline R32, a Sports car from the 90s with significant history and an even more significant aftermarket support, and so after moving to Karakura he saved up to buy a nearly pristine condition R32. Of course like most youngsters do, the first thing they did is drive them, and he drive his to plenty of car meets, with the cult following the car, the car received good reception due to its pure unmodified look, another thing he would do is drive the car as it was meant to be, entering licensed tracks and pushing his cars on the track. Unfortunately the Stock RB26DETT Engine blew up on one of these runs, prompting him to find an alternative. And and so he have the bright idea to bring it to a Local Tuning Shop and have the entire engine pulled out and replaced with an unconventional but great performing VK56DE+ 5.6 Liter V8 and installed Two Turbos on it, This bumped his car’s specification from a decent 316 HP, to an astounding 1500 HP, While keeping the stock car’s look, and so he takes it to plenty of tracks once again and made a name for himself with it. Other than that Mayo did some weight reduction on the car and also installed NeoTerra NeoSport tires to give it better grip for the massive power increase.
Now moving on from the Owner’s history with the car, let’s talk about the history of the car itself. The Nissan Skyline R32 is the 8th Generation of the Skyline generation of cars, and were produced in 1989, the car was a significant upgrade from the previous generation, and much more technologically advanced too. There were originally on sale with 2-door and 4-door configurations as well as different Engine Trims, the most popular being is the GT-R trim, which comes with 316 HP, However it was understated in advertisement due to Japan’s at the time enforced law for production cars to not exceed 280 HP, and even then the engine that they used were made with Racing in mine, and can hold up to 500 HP without changing anything, The car were a SENSATION in the late 80s and early 90s, As it also introduces Nissan’s new All-Wheel Drive system named the ATTESSA All-Wheel Drive System, which electronically controls the balance of the power distribution on all 4 Wheels, and to make sure to Minimize Oversteering, Despite the racing focused purpose, the R32 was surprisingly great interior wise, while also mixed with Racing inspired interior with Boost Gauge and other neat features, But it also includes a Climate Control system.
Moving on to Its racing history, The R32 originally was produced to rival at the time, one of the greatest supercars in the 1980s, the Porsche 959. Nissan developed the R32 to compete in Group A Racing but also to run The Green Hell (The Nurburgring Racetrack), in which it did rather well, managing to go around in just 8 Minutes and 20 seconds, beating Porsche’s Production car record of 8 Minutes and 45 seconds that was set by the Porsche 944. While back home it was entered to the Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC) and DOMINATED the championship with 27 Wins and a Back to Back win from the year 1989 to 1993. And in 1990 It was also entered into the Australian Touring Car Championship and promptly ended the previously all-conquering Ford Sierra Cosworth’s reign. This achievement made Australian Motoring give the R32 a nickname of ‘Godzilla’ due to it being described as a ‘Monster from Japan’. Due to Australia being the first Export market for the car, word got around very quickly.
Due to the R32’s dominance, It became a factor to the fall of the Group A Racing formula, similarly to the JTCC as well, It then later switched out for the Supertouring category and also indirectly to the GT500 category of today.
There are super limited runs of the R32, famously known as the Nismo Variant, which were limited to 6 produced in 1989 and the rest 554 units were made after 1989 and all came in Gunmetal Grey as a color option.
The R32 are now priced starting from ¥19,000,000 all the way to ¥35,000,000 depending on the trim… Which is insane for mainland Japan’s economy.
Specifications
- Power Output: 1500 horsepower / 2000 lb-ft of torque (316 hp stock)
- Weight: ~1,533 kg / 3,380 lb
- Power/Weight ratio: 0.965 hp/kg
- 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph): 3.09 seconds
- Quarter mile time: 9.836
- Nirmala test track time: 1:14.703 with best lap time of 1:12.690
Conclusion
Despite the amount of power, the R32 is surprisingly stable.. On a straight line. On the track It’s a bit of a different story, the amount of power and the not so great tires under it made it pretty scary to drive around a corner, however it did a fantastic time of 1:14.703 from a standing still, making it the fastest car I’ve reviewed for Cars, City and Coffee. However in the Quarter mile it was a monster, It is also the quickest car on the quarter mile with a time of 9.836 Seconds, which is insane, but of course… Driving it takes guts.Notable Characteristics
The Attessa system is a wonderful system that did prevent me from spinning around quite a few times, however It’s not enough for the sheer power it has, Sport Tires are not enough for track use, but for drag racing it's good enough. And also despite it being All-Wheel Drive, Do not use it for dirt or gravel rally.Rating
8/10
Have any other cars you want to see being reviewed? Reach out to the Karakura News Station directly or contact us via phone at (020)-980-4487 or contact us on Onrain on @KaNews.
