producing 560 R32swithanaerobodykit,steel-wheeledturbos
andthedeletionof theABS,rearwiperandradio.ItsR33-
basedeffortwasfarmoreserious.Just 44 Nismo400Rswere
builtatacostof¥12,000,000each,whichequatedtoabout
AUD$155,000in 1997 andabout$270,000intoday’smoney.
Funnilyenough,notfaroffthecostofacurrent R35GT-R
Nismo.Likeitsmodernsuccessor,nopartofthecarwasleft
untouched.Theflaredguardsadd50mmofwidthandallow
thefitmentof 18 by10.0-inchwheelswrappedin275/35tyres
foranextra30mmofrubberateachcorner.Thenewwheels
expandthetrackby20mmfrontandrearandthewholeshow
sits30mmlowerthankstonewBilsteindampers.
Thatcomprehensivebodykitincludesairintakesinthefront
bumperandductsfortheoilcooler andbrakes,whichuse
Nismopads.Thebonnetiscarbon,therearwingscorescarbon
fibreelementsandtherewastheoptionofHIDheadlights.
Inside,uniqueinstrumentsincludea 320km/hspeedometer
and (highly optimistic) 11,000rpm tacho plus a titanium
shiftknobandbespoke360mmsteeringwheel.Onceagain,
however,themainfocuswasextractingmorepowerfromthe
under-stressedRB26.
Socomprehensivewerethechangesthattheenginereceived
itsowncode,theRB-XGT2.ItsetthetemplatefortheMine’s
R34byincreasingboreandstroke1 and4mmrespectively,its
capacityonceagain2771cc,whilea heftyboostincreasefrom
thestandard8.5psito15.6psiliftedoutputsto294kW/469Nm.
TocopewiththeaddedstresstheRB-Xusesa reinforcedblock,
forgedpistons,crankandcon-rods,1.2mmmetalheadgasket,
steel-wheeledN1turbos,aNismointercooler,air-cooledoil
cooler and a titanium exhaust. Other upgrades include a
titaniumfrontstrutbrace,reinforcedenginemounts,a twin-
plateclutchandcarbonpropshaft.
ThelasttimeI sawa Nismo400Rit wasa massofpolygons,
slowlyrotatingtothesoundofcheesypseudo-jazzmusic.Like
manypetrolheadsofmyera,GranTurismoanditssequelswas
a bigpartofmyautomotiveeducation,providinginformation
andaccess tolittle-known brandsand models,particularly
thosefromtheJapanesemarket.V-Spec’s400Risbuildnumber
007,painted iniconicMidnight Purple,andrightlyleadsa
shelteredexistencethesedays.Itwasn’talwaysso,itsprevious
Japaneseownerusingitregularlyjudgingbythemorethan
66,000kmontheodometer.Nevertheless,eveninitshomeland
a 400Rsightingisa rareevent;inAustraliayou’vealmostgot
betteroddsofbeinghitbylightning.
Itsprovenanceislostonthegeneralpublic.Fillingupata
busyBPthe400Rbarelyscoresa secondglance;tothemasses
I’mjustanotherPaulWalkerwannabeina modifiedSkyline.
Heathens.Later,faithinhumanityisrestoredbyNBMX-5-
driving youngsterAlex,who swerves intoour photography
location,mouthagape,exclaiming:“IneverthoughtI’dseeone
intheflesh.”It’sunclearwhichcarhe’sreferringto– it doesn’t
reallymatter.
Yousita littlehighandslightlyreclinedina 400R,butthe
seat is beautifully supportive and the unadorned steering
wheelisperfect.Itcan’tbecoincidencethatbothNismoand
Porschehavesettledon360mmastheperfectwheeldiameter.
Thealloypedalsarewell-spaced,thoughtheacceleratorisa bit
highfornaturalheel-toeing,butbyfarthebiggestimpediment
todrivingthe400Rsmoothlyisthetwin-plateclutch.It’snot
evil– a bitoffamiliarityisallthat’srequired– butitssharp
operationprovidesthepotentialforembarrassment.
EvenatslowspeedstheNismo’squalitiesshinethrough.ItsMAIN
TheR34GT-Rfeels
muchmoremodern
thanits1999-2002
vintagewouldsuggest
andtheMine's car
wouldgivea few
modernsupercars
a bloodynose➜d motorofficial f motor_mag^105