Godzilla never dies. The Nissan GT-R has probably earned itself the most majestic nickname ever given to a car. The GT-R had been a household name for generations, appearing in a whole lot of pop culture mediums, from the Fast and Furious movies to the Gran Turismo video games. The Japanese sports car icon has become a childhood hero for so many kids all over the world.
As rumors suggest the upcoming R36 is just around the corner. With the new page soon to be added to the storied history of the GT-R name, it's time to take a look back at the Skyline R34 GT-R (1999 - 2002), the fifth generation and the last to use the "Skyline" name.
Let's take a closer look at the Skyline R34.
A Beast With Mighty Power
One simply can't talk about the GT-R without mentioning its mythical engine. The 2.6-liter or 2.8-liter RB26DETT straight-6 twin-turbo machine (often referred to as RB26). On paper, Nissan claimed output of 276bhp, a familiar number isn't it? That's because of the "gentlemen's agreement" among Japanese manufactures, binding their cars to that power ceiling in order to foster road safety. Apparently, the memo only went to the marketing departments, as everyone simply continued to build sports cars with whatever amount of horses they could fit in the engine.
The R34 was tested to boost 330bhp for instance. Power was mated to a 6-speed Getrag-sourced manual gearbox and sent to all four wheels. 0-60mph time was around 5.2 seconds, depending on which specific edition you're counting, there are plenty of them.
The Nissan Skyline R34 Is A Digital Centerpiece
Like its predecessors and successors, the R34 is a driver-focused, aggressive sports car. With performance ranked as the primary focus, the budget for the interior department was therefore not as affluent. It didn't stop the GT-R's cabin from pulling on a good show though.
The most memorable feature was the 5.8-inch multi-function screen in the middle of the dashboard, which shows 7 different live readings of engine and vehicle statistics like turbo pressure, oil and water temperature, among other details.
You could even upgrade that to include a lap timer and G-Force meter. Not exactly groundbreaking for today's standard, but back in 1999 when the Y2K bug was still a thing, the R34 Godzilla made the most exotic supercars looked like dinosaurs.
Numerous Special Editions Of The Nissan Skyline R34
Translations from Japanese is not the best when it comes to naming cars. Too many of them are either christened with silly made-up names like the Suzuki Jimny and the Mitsubishi Starion, and improper vocabs like the Suzuki Hustler, or a pile of baffling acronyms.
The GT-R, being a serious performance car, falls to the third category. Not the name "Skyline GT-R R34", but the names of numerous high-tech witchcraft onboard and a series of special editions.
To start with, there's the Super-HICAS four-wheel steer system, which allows the R34 Godzilla to excel at all corners with loads of grip. As well as the clever electronic ATTESA E-TS (Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All-Terrain) four-wheel-drive system. Which can be upgraded to an ATTESA E-TS Pro system with a rear Active LSD if you purchase an R34 V-Spec (Victory Specification).
This brings out the long list of special edition R34s. The V-Spec was the first one of such kind, offering firmer suspension, front and side splitters, as well as a rear carbon fiber air diffuser besides the 'Pro' AWD system. This was followed by the V-Spec N1, a hardcore homologation special with air-con, audio equipment, rear wiper, and boot linings removed. Most of these were sold to racing teams or tuning houses.
To make things more complicated, the exported V-Spec cars received special treatments such as additional oil coolers, revised ECU, underbody diffuser, and extra displays on the dashboard screen. Since the R34 was only produced in right-hand drive, only a few markets like the UK, Australia, and Hong Kong were lucky enough to be blessed by the JDM legend.
That was not the end of it. With an update launched in 2000, the V-Spec was replaced by the V-Spec II, with even stiffer suspension, larger rear brake rotors, and a carbon fiber hood with a low-drag air inlet. The same changes also applied to the V-Spec N1, hence becoming the V-Spec II N1. The 2nd N1 model was distinguished by an unpainted carbon hood.
An M-Spec (M for Mizuno, Nissan's chief engineer at that time) was also launched in 2001, based on the V-Spec II with special "Ripple Control" dampers, revised suspension, and other upgrades. For the R34's final act, Nissan launched the V-Spec II Nür and M-Spec Nür, packed an improved RB26DETT based on the race-ready N1 engine, together with ceramic turbo blades and some minor styling tweaks.
The craziest and rarest of R34s has to be the 2003 Z-Tune. Nissan's motorsport arm, Nismo, created this ultimate Godzilla by rebuilding 18 hand-picked mint-condition used R34 V-Spec cars. Hand-fitting them with GT500 racer-derived aero parts, aggressive Sachs suspensions, tailor-made Brembo brakes, and most importantly an upgraded, handbuilt 2.8-liter RB26 straight-6 with Le Mans GT2 tech. The output of the Z-Tune was rated at 493bhp at 6,800rpm and 398lb-ft of torque at 5,200rpm. 0-62mph took only 3.8 seconds and flat out it could do 203mph.
How Much Does A Nissan Skyline R34 Cost?
That very much depends on the car's condition and specific models. The RB26 is well-received for its tunning potential, one can easily extract 400, or even 500bhp from it. Plus, the R34 is a JDM after all, unmolested original examples won't be an easy find.
Clean and unaltered examples are highly sought after. Some of the special editions listed above possess unimaginable rarity. This website records detailed production figures and transactions of the Godzillas. For instance, only 56 examples of the hardcore N1 were made. 38 of which are the V-Spec N1, while only 18 are V-Spec II N1. Those will cost more than $80,000, even with 156,000 miles on the odometer.
The M-Spec Nür, with only 285 examples produced, also gets price tags matching modern supercars. One of those with only 627 miles was sold for an astonishing $339,000 in an auction in Japan, December 2020. This makes buying a Z-Tune as difficult as going to Mars. One of the 18 examples did go on sale in 2016, Chassis #009 was sold for $484,344 by a Hong Kong dealer.
Lower your expectation a bit, you'll still find some less-exclusive R34 GT-Rs with a relatively realistic price tag, but picking up one is still not easy. This stock standard R34 for instance is marked at $175,149. But anything with the V-Spec badge will require potential buyers to inquire about the price.
NEXT: Portuguese Police Find A Better Use For Seized Nissan GT-R: Transporting Organs