made Hollinger ’box that proved both much tougher and
cheaper.Whentheroadcarswentonsaleinmid-’91,therewas
noimpedimenttotheGT-R’sexcellence.
Journalists loved the car, gushing over its dynamics. Its
superbsteeringfeelandresponse– astoundingfora 4WScarof
theera– theadjustabilityofitshandlingbalance(evenpower
oversteer!)andthesurefootedsophisticationofitsall-round
chassistalentinstantlyelevatedtheballsyNissansuper-coupe
tolegendstatus.It trulywasGodzilla.
Butsowasitsprice.TheraceGT-Rswerealreadywinning
localraces,whichmadesomeinsideNissanAustraliaexcited
and,unfortunately,money-hungry.
“The Japanese werejustas surprisedaboutthe$110,000
pricetagasmanyofusinAustraliawere,”Berangermuses,“but
thatwasjusta greedysalesteambelievingtheycouldmakea
killing.Andtheyfelloverwiththatone.
“TheGT-Rwassomuchmoreexpensivethana [$70K]300ZX
thatitwasverydifficultforpeopleto acceptthataNissan,
howevertechnicallyadvanced,couldcost$110,000[$210Kin
today’smoney]...andthatultimatelycausedthecartobog
downinthedealerships.It reallystruggled.”
Our 100 GT-Rswerebuiltinseveralbatchesduring 1991 – 28
carsinMay, 22 inJune,andtheremaining 50 inAugust.To
reducecomplexity,theywereonlyavailableinthreecolours
(BlackPearl,JetSilverandRedPearl– split30/25/45)rather
thantheninevariationsofferedinJapan,andeachwasjam-
packed with equipment. But there were still unsold cars
hanging around in dealerships 12 months later acting as ‘demo’
cars. Had the GT-R been more realistically priced – “I think from
memory we were talking $80K-$85K, something like that, and
it would’ve made money, absolutely” Beranger claims – then
things might have turned out differently.
Still, it hasn’t stopped Aussie-plated GT-Rs pulling close to
that amount three decades later. Today, no one remembers (or
cares) that the GT-R was overpriced at launch, and probably
underrated by the broader public at the time. Instead, the R32
Skyline GT-R has transcended all of that, as well as the ultimate
failure of Project 901 to deliver on Nissan’s bold promise.
Thanks to the global reach of PlayStation and Gran Turismo,
not to mention grey vehicle imports, history has completely
rewritten the way people view the R32, especially in the places
like the US where it was never sold. It remains Nissan’s hero
car and has since left the rest of the excellent R32 Skyline range
trailing off into history.
The following R33 GT-R of 1995 – while undoubtedly tough-
looking and available in many more markets – simply gained
weight and girth over its svelte predecessor, leaving the R32
standing proud as the purest of its type.
Nissan Japan ended up building 43,937 R32 Skyline GT-Rs
across a five-year period – a significant number when you think
about it – but what’s of even greater importance is that this was
Godzilla at its sweetest. A never to be repeated combination
of brawn and brains, brimming with visual restraint and
emotional swagger.ABOVE LEFT
Outputs of 205kW
and 355Nm seem
modest by modern
standards but
enabled the heavy
beast to sprint to
100km/h in 5.0secABOVE
Hydraulic rack-
and-pinion and
rear-wheel steer
endow the R32
with immaculate
steering, directed
through a simple
three-spoke
leather wheel➜
I’LLTAKE TWO!”
ERRYPACKER was a lot of
hings,but did you know the
egendary media tycoon was
lsoanR32 Skyline GT-R
an-boy?
Sistermagazine Wheels
wasdoing a supercar
estatEastern Creek in
992 withrace ace Kevin
artlettdriving a Honda
SX,BMW M5, Ferrari
Mondialand Skyline GT-R.
B mentioned it to his mate
P, whohappened to ownthe magazine. As the crew
were setting up, an Agusta
helicopter landed on the
infield and out stepped the
big boss.
Kerry and young son
Jamie spent hours lapping
the track in the NSX and
GT-R before heading back
to their chopper. As he
departed, Packer asked
editor Phil Scott if he could
pull some strings and secure
two GT-Rs. Scotty made thecall immediately. Packer then
cancelled his order for a pair
of NSXs with a miffed Rick
Damelian.
Packer kept two R32s
in the ACP car park in
Castlereagh Street – silver
and red, from memory – and
they looked stock. But Kerry
had KB make modifications
to each car, leading to
much speculation about the
amount of horsepower they
were, um, packing.“
K
th
le
a
faw
te
19
B
N
M
K
K90 september 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor