Motor Australia – September 2019

19

NOVEMBER1997.Anotherfamilyfriendly

GT-Rappears,againcourtesyofAutech,

whostufftheC34Stageafullofthe

engineanddrivelinefromtheR33GT-R

andadda bodykittomatch.It'sthe

ultimatesleeper,withanRB26,manual

gearbox,ATTESAall-wheeldrive,Brembo

brakesandBBSwheels.Intotal 1734 were

builtfrom1997-2001acrosstwoseries.

THE GT-R

WAGON?

400R BREAKS

COVER

R34 GT-R

IS UNVEILED

20

21

NOVEMBER 1997. The Nismo 400R is

revealed, the rarest road-going GT-R

yet. Virtually every area of the car is

modified but from the planned 100 only

44 escape before R33 production ends.

The 400R is the hero car of the original

Gran Turismo; unable to be bought,

it can only be won by achieving Gold

times on the International A licence

tests (bloody hard!).

JANUARY 1999. The R34 GT-R is revealed, a shorter, more

muscular GT-R to appease those who described the R33 as

too soft and bulky. The basics remain the same, but the R34

includes more technology than ever before. Just 11,578 are

built, compared to 16,668 R33s.

22

JULY 1999. Despite being

Japanese, turbocharged

and AWD, the GT-R

isn't a natural rally car.

Nevertheless, Akira

Kameyama wins the Open

Production class at Pikes

Peak in 1993 with an R32

and again in 1996 and

1998 with an R33. A year

later, Rhys Millen wins the

Showroom Stock class in

an R33 GT-R that would

go on to Hollywood fame.

WINNING AT

PIKES PEAK

18

SEPTEMBER 1997. For the GT-R-

loving family man, Nissan-affiliated

conversion company Autech

creates the 40th Anniversary,

installing the R33 GT-R running

gear and front panels into the

sedan bodyshell. It’s named in

honour of the Skyline’s 40th

birthday, which started life as a

humble Prince model in 1957.

FOUR-

DOOR GT-R

RETURNS!