Among JDM cars, the Nissan Skyline GT-R is perhaps the most legendary and revered model of all time, with a five-generation history that goes all the way back to 1969. What started off as a four-door performance sedan would eventually go on to become an iconic Japanese sports car with an insane degree of desirability

Before culminating in the mythical R34, there was the 1995 Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R, a sports car that perfectly captures the essence of JDM performance, comparable in historic value to the likes of the Ferrari F50, Acura NSX, and of course, the mk4 Supra.

In almost every sense, the R33 Skyline GT-R is almost a perfect machine, in the sense that it fully achieves its initial intent with an immense amount of attention to detail. What is that intent? To come off as the perfect driver’s car, complete with timeless looks, a chassis fine-tuned for performance, and plenty of power. Here’s what makes the Nissan Skyline GT-R so special.

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The 1995 R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R Is Quick

Nissan Skyline R33, silver, front profile
Via: Hagerty

The R33 GT-R essentially carries over the exact same engine as its R32 predecessor - the iconic RB26 twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter inline-six cylinder, which capable of producing a maximum output of 276 horsepower. However, it features revised turbos in the R33, which increase its torque to 271 pound-feet.

The engine mates to a 5-speed manual transmission that sends power to both axles through Nissan’s esteemed ATTESA all-wheel-drive system, allowing it to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds while on its way to a top speed of 156 horsepower. Additionally, the RB26 can gloriously up to 8000 rpm and is extremely susceptible to tunes, allowing it to sustain immense amounts of power.

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The Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R Has Godlike Driving Dynamics

Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R Rear Quarter Purple
Nissan

Despite maintaining the same engine as its predecessor, the Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R was definitely new in many ways. When compared to the R32, it has a stiffer chassis, larger brakes, thicker tires, and enhanced suspension with improved stiffness. It also makes use of an improved version of the ATTESA AWD system, with changes specifically made to its four-wheel steering system in order to increase traction. On the outside, it features a new air dam, rear wing, and side skirts which improve the R33’s drag coefficient to 0.35 over the R32’s rating of 0.40. To showcase just how improved the new GT-R was over the old one, Nissan took an R33 test car to the Nürburgring in 1994 and achieved a time of 7:59.887 minutes, making it the first production vehicle to achieve a sub-8-minute time.

Upon the release of the 1995 Skyline GT-R, Nissan also made the enhanced V-spec trim available immediately. It comes with stiffer suspension, and more importantly, an upgraded ATTESA E-TS Pro system, featuring an active limited-slip differential for significantly better handling. To cap things off with the R33 GT-R’s ultimate variant, Nissan unveiled the special edition Nismo 400R, limited to just 44 units. It features a significantly upgraded RBX-GT2 race engine with 400 horsepower and 346 pound-feet of torque that redlines at 9000 rpm. Along with revised body parts and plenty of aero upgrades, the Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo 400R can blast from 0-60 mph in just 4.0 seconds, making it one of the craziest performance cars of its time.

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The R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R Is Rare And Valuable

Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R rear profile, purple
Via: Autotrader

In total, more than 16,000 R33 Skyline GT-R units would leave Nissan’s assembly lines before December 1998, of which not a single unit reached the United States. Before 2020, seeing one in U.S. borders was an extremely rare sight due to the 25-year import ban, but they’re slowly becoming more common now that they can be legally brought over from Japan and other countries. However, the R33 GT-R is still rare and holds its value extremely well, and the average price for one hovers around $70,000, big money indeed.

That’s just about all there is to it, the story and specs behind one of the most esteemed JDM cars of all time. No matter which way you decide to look at it, the 1995 Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R is the perfect embodiment of Japanese performance, complete with distinctive traditional looks, a perfect power-train with immense potential and great base power, and plenty of performance-oriented tech that elevates its driving dynamics to a point of complete track prowess and enjoyment. At the time, nobody would have guessed that its successor - the R34, would somehow manage to be even better.

Sources: Nissan, Hemmings