Motor Australia – September 2019

Tuned Skylineroyalty

BODY

DRIVE

ENGINE

BORE/STROKE

COMPRESSION

POWER

TORQUE

POWER/WEIGHT

TRANSMISSION

WEIGHT

SUSPENSION

L/ W/H

WHEELBASE

TRACKS

STEERING

BRAKES

WHEELS

TYRES

VALUE

R ATI N G

2 door,2+2seatcoupe

allwheel

2771ccinline6, DOHC,24v,twinturbo

87.0x 7 7.7mm

8.5:1

294kW@6800rpm

469Nm@4400rpm

190kW/tonne

6 speedmanual

1550kg

multilinks,coilsprings,antirollbar(f/r)

4675/1830/1330mm

2720mm

1480/1490mm(f/r)

hydraulicallyassistedrackandpinion

332mmventilated/grooveddiscs,

4 pistoncalipers(f/r)

18 x 10.0inch(f/r)

275/35ZR18DunlopDirezzaDZ10Z(f/r)

$300,000(andrising)

11111

2 door,2+2seatcoupe

allwheel

2771ccinline6, DOHC,24v,twinturbo

87.0x 7 7.7mm

8.5:1

441kW@7200rpm

629Nm@5400rpm

285kW/tonne

6 speedmanual

1550kg

multilinks,coilsprings,antirollbar(f/r)

4600/1785/1360mm

2665mm

1500/1510mm(f/r)

hydraulicallyassistedrackandpinion

356mmventilated/grooveddiscs,

6 pistoncalipers(f);330mmventilated

grooveddiscs,4 pistoncalipers(r)

18 x 10.25inch(f/r)

265/35R18BridgestoneRE71R(f/r)

We'renotgametoestimate...

11111

NISMO400R MINE'SR34GT-R

The Specs

MAIN

A hugethanksto

V-SpecPerformance

fortheirgenerosityin

loaningustwoofthe

rarestGT-Rsinthe

worldforthisfeature

• they'relocatedin
  Blackburn,Victoria,
  if youwanttocheck
  themoutforyourself

➜

pedalsbetterspacedandthethrottlepedallonginitstravel,

onlyrevealingitsricheswhenthedriverreallyasksforthem.

Dosoandtheaccelerationis, frankly,berserk.As with

the400Rthereisapause– thoughashorterone– before

theengineresponds,liketheebboftheoceanpriortothe

tsunami arriving.You barely noticethe hesitation as the

soundofenormousquantitiesofairbeingingestedfocuses

themindonwhat’sabouttooccur.Whentheboostarrives

it’slikebeingrear-endedbya speedingtrain,thefronttyres

scrabblingforpurchasewhiletherearsdigintothetarmac

andcatapult1500kgofGT-Rdowntheroad.It’slittlewonder

Orido andTsuchiyadisbelievinglyexclaimedtheUltimate

Responsewas“toofast!”.

ButtheMine’scarhasasecretbeyondexpertlyapplied

enginetuning.Sittinginthereardiffisa3.9:1finaldrive,

significantly shorter than the standard R34’s 3.545:1. At

thesamerevstheMine’scaristravellingabout 10 percent

slower,butthetorquemultiplicationeffectoftheshorter

gearingmakesitacceleratemuch harder.It’sthisreardiff

• a horrendouslyexpensive Nismo itemthat's nolonger
  available, accordingtoV-Spec–as muchas themonster
  enginethat’skeytothe‘UltimateResponse’tag.
  DrivetheR34hardandyou’dneverguessitsvintage;orif
  youwereforcedto,you’dperhapshazard 2011 ratherthan

2001. Thegap between it andthe 400Rmightonlybe a
      handfulofyearsbutitfeelslikea decadeormore.Likethe
      400R,Mine’shassubtlyenhancedalmosteveryareaofthe
      GT-R’schassis,withlighterwheels,widerrubberandpillow-
      balljointsratherthantraditionalbushes.It’slessplayfulthan
      theR33,theall-wheeldrivesystemfavouringtractionover
      agility;thesteeringisslowertorespondandrequireslock
      toreallyweightup,butisalsorazoraccurate.Itsbehaviour
      isincrediblyconfidence-inspiringwhichmakesitveryeasy
      todrivequickly,butitsoutrightspeedissuchthatdosostill
      requiresconcentration.
      It’sdifficulttothinkofmanymoderncarsthatcouldmatch

the Ultimate Response GT-R for pace on a twisty road and

fewer still for enjoyment. With its combination of insane

speed, driver feedback and everyday usability, it’s one of the

most amazing cars I’ve ever driven. Better yet, Mine’s will

build you one, though you’ll need (extremely) deep pockets

as the engine alone costs ¥3,218,400 (around AUD$42,000).

But when offered the choice of one more drive in either car,

it’s the 400R I choose. There’s something special about the

factory extracting the maximum potential of a model – after

all, no one knows the car better than its creator. Drive a 400R,

Subaru WRX STI 22B, Mazda RX-7 SP or Mugen Civic RR and

standard machinery will never have the same appeal.

108 september 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor