Marjanhadtofittwinparachutes
whenhis1800-horsepower
monsterstartedrunning‘sixes’➜The Specs
CroydonconquerorNISSANSKYLINEGT-R‘JUNII’
BODY 2-door,4-seatcoupe
DRIVE all-wheel(nine-inchspoolreardiff)
ENGINE 3.2Linline-6,DOHC,24v,turbocharged
(NissanRB30,billetblock,Nitto3.2Lstrokerkit,dry
sump,PrecisionXP098turbo)
POWER 1400kW(estimated)
TORQUE 2000Nm(estimated)
POWER/WEIGHT 851kW/tonne
TRANSMISSION 3-speedautomatic(Al’sRaceGlidesTH400)
WEIGHT 1645kg
SUSPENSION doublewishbones,coil-overstruts(f/r)
L/ W/H 4545/1755/1340mm
WHEELBASE 2615mm
TRACKS 1480/1480mm(f/r)
STEERING hydraulically-assistedrack-and-pinion
WHEELS 15.0x 8.0-inch(f/r)
TYRESIZES 275/60R15(f/r)
TYRE MickeyThompsonETStreetRadialPro
PRICE “Don’task”It’sthecarpetI admiremost,andI suggesttoRobit mustbe
a psychologicalployasmuchasanythingforhispotentialrivals
inthishigh-stakesgame.Hedoesn’treply,buthisgrinsaysit all.
JUNII rumblesthroughthecrowdedMaccascarpark,tradies
andsuit-wearersalikeswivellingtosightthesourceofthesonic
disruption.“Thickshakeanda bottleofwaterplease,”Robasks
the impressively uninterested drive-through attendant. “I’m
amazedshecouldevenhearme!”helaughs.
Robdropsmebacktomycar,witha datetocatchupatthe
annualGT-RFestival backatSydneyDragway thefollowing
weekend.I wouldn’tmissit.Afterall,it’snoteverydayyouseea
six-secondGT-Rinfullflight.THEREAREmorethan 400 carsonsitetoday,andRob has
broughta largecrewtosendJUNII downthestripaspartofthe
event.Asafternoondrawsintoevening,JUNIIisswarmedover
byanarmyofCroydonRacingDevelopmentsmechanics,while
Rob’sextendedfamilypreparesthebestracetrackfoodI’veever
had.It’sa fabulousatmosphere.“Wewouldn’tdoitifitwasn’t
fun,”saysoneofthelads.
Unsurprisingly,we’reknockedbackagainfromtakinga ride
duringthedragmeet,soI takeupa tracksidevantagepoint.
Robloadsupthetransbrake,theGT-Rbuildingrevsandnoise
likea WWIIfighterplanestrainingatthechocks.Suddenly,the
rearswhipintolifeandthesidepipessimplyspewoutacridE85
fumesintothecrowd.Hewindsupthe1800-horsepowerrubber
bandunderthebonnetbeforeslippingthebrakeandsimply
explodesawayfromtheline.
Therearsquatsviciouslyandthefrontsareallbutairborne
asJUNIIveerssavagelytotheleft.Almostunbelievablytomy
untrainedeyes,Robstayswithit andkeepsthecar– somehow- tracking straight and true, building inconceivable speed
beforeflashingpastthefinishlineat7.1secondsand201mph
(323km/h).It’sanassaultoneverysense.
“Yeah,thatwasprettycomfortable,”hetellsmeasherolls
JUN II IS AN ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING
FEAT OF ENGINEERING
backin.“Stillplentymoreinit.Mightbetimetoaddthenitrous.”
I amliterallyspeechless.Hewillgoontorecorda night-winning
6.9sec/208mph(335km/h).
JUNIIisanabsolutelyastonishingfeatofengineering,made
allthemoreremarkablebyRobMarjan’srelentlessdetermination
tostaytruetothevisionheformedbackwhenheboughtthecar.
Heis,however,planninga full-housedragcarthatwon’tcarrythe
samecompromisesthatJUNIIwears.
ButJUNIIhasa placeinthelexiconoftheGT-R,inthesame
wayassomeofthemorestoriedcarsinthisissue.Itssimplicityof
formbeliesitsabsolutelyincredibleabilities...andisn’tthatwhat
thelegendofGT-Risallabout?
Thank you to Croydon Racing Developments, Robert Marjan
and Sydney Dragway for their assistance with this story.98 september 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor