Tuesday 8th March
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34): Spotted
Not standard and not Bayside Blue, but it is a UK car and really rather lovely
In Japanese fast car folklore, UK market R34 Skyline GT-Rs rank very highly indeed.
A view familiar to so many!
is one of those UK cars, converted in 2000 by Middlehurst Nissan in St Helens. All 80 were worked on there, with changes such as removing the speed limiter, adding oil and gearbox coolers plus fitting the Multi Function Display. If you were lucky enough to get hold of one, a UK GT-R would have cost £54,000.As cars like the GT-R, Supra and RX-7 head towards classic status, so demand increases for standard and unmodified examples. The problem being that these cars responded so well to tuning, making the quest for untouched examples becomes even more challenging.
This GT-R is modified, but this is not some million horsepower special. Power is up to around 400hp and the rev limit a conservative 7,750rpm. The clutch is uprated to deal with the additional power and the HKS exhaust there to make the most of it.
Lightly fettled, but 400hp or so sounds fun
The wheels are Rota Grids, well suited to seemingly any Japanese performance car. Interestingly this Skyline is on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s as well, so it would be fascinating to know how such a car behaves with some of the best modern performance rubber on it. With the added benefit of adjustable Bilstein coilovers too...Where this car is perhaps a little more controversial is the bodykit. Yes, it's a NISMO kit and therefore more in keeping with a Nissan than some others, but it's easy to see how some may prefer the mechanical upgrades in a standard body. It does at least look very well fitted and rather suits the GT-R's aggressive aesthetic.
The decent pictures here are backed up with a very detailed ad, which is always nice to see. Moreover, this GT-R has had five owners and 80,000 miles, meaning it's been used enough that the next owner could continue driving it and not feel the need to mollycoddle it. Unlike thewe featured back in 2013, here's a GT-R that could be enjoyed still.
Those wheels and Cup 2s? Give it!
It goes to show the growing allure of the classic GT-Rs that this car isn't much cheaper. That £50,000 Skyline was a standard car with 600 miles; this modified car with 80,000 miles is for sale at £36,450. Now there are R34s also, various modified and imported cars, but this is the only UK car for sale. And you could get an R35 too, but is that a fair comparison?For some this Skyline will appear over the top, too loud and a bit outdated. For others it's an icon, representing arguably the best era of Japanese performance cars and a car they would give anything to own - count us among the latter group. What a thing!
NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R R34 V-SPEC
Engine : 2,568cc, inline-6 twin-turbo
Transmission : 6-speed manual, all-wheel drive
Power (hp) : 280@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft) : 293@4,400rpm
MPG : N/A
CO2 : N/A
First registered : 2001
Recorded mileage : 82,000
Price new : £54,000
Price now : £36,450
See the original advert.
[Figures for standard car]