Description
“This Super GT race car was made faster by shortening its wheelbase and lowering its center of gravity.”
Nissan originally conceived the Skyline GT-R R32 as a Group A race car, but when Group A racing went defunct, Nissan found a new series for its prized car, the?Japan Grand Touring Car Championship?(JGTC). The GT-R later underwent a full redesign as the R33, and performance of this new car on the track was impressive to say the least. However, as Nissan’s main rivals, Toyota, started contesting with a faster version of the Supra, and Honda added more heat when it joined the series in 1997, the GT-R was losing its grasp on JGTC dominance.
Although Nissan took both the Driver’s Championship and Constructor’s Title in 1998, the company switched to the new R34 in 1999 as the foundation for its race car. The new GT-R rode on a 55-mm shorter wheelbase than the R33, making it more agile than its predecessor. Also a shallower oil pan and the fuel tank relocated inside the cabin accounted for better weight distribution.
The new revived GT-R found itself in far fiercer competition than anticipated, and didn’t score its first win until the fourth race of the season. The GT-R was unable to log a second win that year, but collected enough points on the strength of its reliability to give Erik Comas, driving the Pennzoil NISMO GT-R, the Driver’s Championship for the second year in a row before the final race was even run.
