The badge and the car that always got people drooling, but why? Here are some reasons why the Nissan GTR (Godzilla) is so special…

Now, this article will not be the first that will touch on this, but if you want to read it from our point of view or if you want to read it again, then you are welcome to do so. Here are some reasons why the GT-R is so special to enthusiasts

Let me start the list with arguably the biggest reason why the GT-R is so special. Fame. This car was and still is, regardless of the generation, of video games. Gran Turismo, Forza, Need for Speed, Project Cars and etc. The car was a huge deal, especially for Gran Turismo, as the R32 Skyline GT-R was the reason Kazunori Yamauchi started Gran Turismo. According to sources, he loaned a R32 Skyline GT-R when he was 24, unfortunately, he lost control of the car and crashed it at 200 km/h (124 mph) and because of that accident and some others, he started the hit PlayStation game, Gran Turismo and the GT-R became it signature car. They even have a league that if you are extremely good at the game, you can actually start racing for Nissan themselves, in fact, Nissan is a huge supporter of the series. They even made a GT-R that can only be controlled by a PlayStation 4 controller and the technology (more on that later) of the R35 GT-R was done by some of the people at Polyphony Digital, most known for Gran Turismo. But the GT-R wasn’t just known for its appearance in a game franchise. Paul Walker (R.I.P) drove a R34 Skyline GT-R in 2 Fast 2 Furious and in the 4th one. Though according to sources, the 4th film didn’t actually have any R34 Skyline GT-Rs just some Skyline GT-Ts. He drove a R35 GT-R in Fast Five and Furious 7. The GT-R was also very popular with anime as well. The R34 was the choice of the character going by the name of “Godhand” in Initial D. GT-Rs was also used by some of the characters in the anime show “Wangan Midnight” based on the infamous street racing gang “The Mid Night Club”, which DriveTribe did a video on. Besides video games, movies and television, the GT-R is literally every single YouTuber’s dream car and there are videos of YouTubers showcasing their GT-R and driving them and some making insane horsepower figures and some doing ballistic launch. But the most significant reason why is this car is popular is racing. The “Hakosuka” Skyline 2000 GT-R and R32 Skyline GT-R was dominant in the Japanese Touring Car Championship Group A class making the Calsonic R32 Skyline GT-R one of the most popular liveries for the GT-R, but the most famous victory for the R32 GT-R was at Australia which earned its infamous nickname “Godzilla”. The R33 Le Mans wasn’t exactly the most competitive but it finished 5th at Le Mans. The R34 Skyline GT-R and R35 GT-R was also dominant in the Super GT500 class.

Back then when the GT-R R32 was launched, it allegedly made below 280 horsepower from a twin turbocharged straight-six due to a gentleman’s agreement, which basically states that Japanese companies could never start a horsepower war. Then the R33 Skyline generation rolled out and introduced the GT-R trim back making 300 horsepower though the R33 GT-R was heavy excluding the GT-R R35, the R33 GT-R was 20 seconds faster than the R32 GT-R in the Nurburgring, reaching a time of 7 minutes 59 seconds. Then comes the infamous GT-R of them all, the R34 GT-R only making less than 300 horsepower due to the aforementioned gentleman’s agreement, but in reality the R34 GT-R actually produced roughly around 327 horsepower. The turbocharger for the R34 received a ball bearing core that increases spool time and reliability. Then comes the R35 generation though the heaviest GT-R out there and now powered by a twin turbocharged V6 instead of the straight-six. The acceleration in the R35 is astonishing, achieving a 0-60 time in 3.2 seconds and each engine is hand-build, so the horsepower may differ, one may achieve 480 horsepower, while another may achiever over 500 horsepower and this is the bit you are waiting for, since the twin turbocharged straight six (RB26DETT) can handle quite an enormous power, a lot of people have been tuning the straight six to produce insane horsepower figures and even the twin turbocharged V6 have been touched by tuners to also produce insane horsepower figures.