GT-R Festival 2019
The GT-R Festival is an annual event that pays homage to the extremely well known name and cult like following of the Nissan GT-R variant of Skyline or later just known as the GT-R (from late 2007 onwards). As you can imagine the 2019 event being held at Sydney Motorsport Park was one that showcased some of the worlds rarest Nissan Skyline GT-R variants.
With this being my first time at a GT-R Festival I was personally in awe of the quality of cars there and could really appreciate the rarity of some of the models on display, such as;
Nissan Skyline GTS-R (R31):
The 7th generation Nissan Skyline (R31) was officially rolled out in 1985. It was in 1986 however that the longed-for 2-door coupe series was added to the line. The following year in 1987 the limited edition “GTS-R” coupe with the engine output of 210bhp and 245Nm of torque from is two-litre inline 6 turbocharged engine (RB20DET-R). It was rolled out as a base model for Group A touring cars.
Now Australian touring car legends; Jim Richards and Mark Skaife drove a Gibson Motor Sport prepped Nissan Skyline GTS-R to win the 1989 Sandown 500. Richards also used the GTS-R in 6 of the 8 races to win the 1990 Australian Touring Car Championship the following year (he used the R32 GT-R in the final two rounds of the series as i’ll touch on later).
Nissan Skyline GT-R N1 (R32, R33 & R34):
N1 in this particular case is referring to the Group N (N1 class) racing series. The N1 variants of the GT-R all boasted a RB26DETT N1 engine block built by REINIK, which saw many minor but effective upgrades over the standard RB26DETT engine, such as; thicker cylinder walls, enhanced water cooling channels, upgraded oil and water pumps, stronger made connecting rods, higher flowing exhaust manifold and turbochargers (which also had stronger turbine wheels made from steel rather than ceramic). The N1 block has 24U stamped on the block also, rather than the standard 05U.
The R32 Skyline GT-R N1 road car marked the N1 engine's introduction to the ordinary consumer. R32, 33, and 34 N1 road cars were known for lack of amenities and their light weight. The R33 N1 engine and turbochargers were slightly revised, and the R34 N1 engine saw further improvement. The camshaft timing was altered slightly for more torque. R33 and R34 N1 turbochargers are the same size however R34 N1s use a ball bearing centre section. NISMO states the ball bearings in the R34 N1 allow them to spool 400 rpm faster than R33 N1.
86 N1 models over all three generations are said to have only been made.
Nissan Skyline 400R (R33):
A special edition of the R33 was introduced on 3 November 1997 called the 400R (with R standing for Racing). Overall development and planning was by NISMO. But, its bored and stroked RB26DETT engine, known as the infamous RBX-GT2, was engineered and produced by REINIK.
The engine featured 77.7 mm stroke crankshaft (73.7 mm stock), forged 87 mm pistons (86 mm cast stock), upgraded rods, polished ports, high lift camshafts, upgraded oil system, larger exhaust manifolds and higher output turbochargers. NISMO then produced an upgraded exhaust, a twin-plate clutch, and intercooler system for the car, NISMO brake pads were also fitted. The body of the car didn’t stay the same either with the 400R having exclusive aerodynamic updates added, such as; wider bumpers, side skirts, a new rear bumper, a new front bumper with bigger air scoops, and a redesigned bonnet and rear spoiler made of carbon fibre. The 400R was also fitted with gorgeous and now very expensive 18x10 NISMO LM-GT1s wheels. The engine overall developed 400bhp (hints the name 400R) and 470Nm of torque, which would allow the 400R to reach a top speed of over 300 km/h and enabled it to accelerate from 0–100 km/h in 4.0 seconds flat.
NISMO had originally planned to produce 100 units of the 400R, however, only 44 units were made before production of the R33 ended in 1998.
Nissan Skyline GT-R 'Z-Tune' (R34):
The first Z-tune was built in 2003, using a used 2002 Nissan Skyline (R34) GT-R V·Spec II. It was built with a concept RB26DETT 'Z1' engine. This engine was based on Nissan's Le Mans GT2 and GT500 racing experiences. As with the racing vehicles a strengthened engine block and stroked crankshaft were utilised. The engine was also bored. With the new displacement of 2.8 litres and upgraded turbochargers. The Z1 engine was rated at 500bhp. The Z-Tune had a 0–100 km/h acceleration time of just 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of over 327 km/h, which is absolute insanity for 2003.
NISMO was then given the approval from Nissan to build Z-tune models for the NISMO anniversary. NISMO then purchased 18 used R34 GT-R V·Spec, each with less than 29,000 km’s on the odometer, they were then completely stripped and were resprayed to a "Z-tune Silver," a special colour exclusively for the Z-tune. One car was left in its original colour of Midnight Purple III (As pictured above). For each of the 18 production models, the 2.8 L engine was revised to allow it to reach a speed of 8,000 rpm while still making 500bhp (for warranty reasons). This second revision of the Z-tune engine is called the ‘Z2'.
The bodywork is designed with the same functional components used in NISMO's GT500 racing cars, such as engine bay vents on the bonnet and bumpers, as well as wider arches for wider wheels. The Z-tune is also improved with an aggressive suspension setup from Sachs, and a specially designed Brembo brake system.
The entire car is essentially handmade, with the car being completely stripped and re-built from the ground up. Engineers reinforced and stiffened the chassis, seam welding in key areas such as the door seams and door frames and added carbon fibre to the strut towers, transmission tunnel and the engine bay. completely redesigned suspension, drivetrain, engine, gearbox and other components, so that the Z-Tune would work at maximum efficiency and reliability as is expected of a road-going vehicle.
A total of 19 Z-Tunes were built, 18 in Z-Tune Silver and 1 in Midnight Purple III.
Source: Motive DVD
Nissan GT-R NISMO (R35):
Nissan introduced a NISMO Edition GT-R for model year 2014.
In the new model, power increases to 591bhp at 6,800 rpm and 652Nm of torque at 3,200-5,800 rpm. The 0-100 km/h time changed to a blistering 2.5 seconds.
Special edition forged alloys by RAYS in 20-inch size are included. The standard GT-R's aluminium trunk lid is swapped out for a full carbon fibre panel and additional spot welds and adhesive help strengthen the chassis. A front splitter with carbon fibre air ducts up front add to the special NISMO full aerodynamic package, while a large racing style carbon wing completes the rear.
Inside, the NISMO edition has special seats with black and red colour treatment made with synthetic suede. The instrument binnacle and steering wheel are also covered in synthetic suede. The Bose stereo system does not have active noise control. The gauges have some red colour treatment as well. NISMO-specific options are low-gloss matte grey paint and a full titanium exhaust with additional heatsinks. These changes, in aggregate, reduce weight by 17 kg, which is the reason that the NISMO GT-R accelerates even faster than before.
The race car pedigree of the Nissan Skyline GT-R was on full display at the event also, having the Australian Touring Car legend, Jim Richards, there in person as well as his old R32 GT-R race car. Without a doubt it bought up some nostalgia for those who know about the R32’s racing dominance. In Australian Motorsport the Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R’s success in motor racing was formidable, particularly in the annual 1,000km race at the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst (Bathurst 1000), where the winner in 1991 and 1992 was a GT-R being driven by Mark Skaife and Jim Richards in both dominating years, this happened even despite receiving additional 140kg in weight penalties and a turbo pressure relief valve in 1992, and even crashing. This goes to show that the GT-R is car that really backs up all of its motorsport heritage, and this is only one of many examples worldwide.
1992 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) GIO Group A Touring Car (Australia)
The drag strip was open for business from midday and had some absolute monsters on display with one car in particular “JUN II” a highly modified R32 GT-R cracking a 1/4 mile time in the 6’s live at the event! There was also a Motorkhana (Auto-X) over the other side of the event, unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to make it over there in time, getting stuck in the middle of the show & shine multiple times, with over 300 stunning examples on display.
Source: Motive DVD
I’ve heard this event has been the biggest one to date and I am privileged to have been a spectator of such an event. Hopefully next year I can make it around to the Motorkhana as well!
