(UPDATE: This is actually not a GT-R, so oops, and title fixed. Please play along with me. – jd) Waiting at bus stops has afforded me some of my richest adventures in car-spotting, and this particular Saturday evening was no exception. While taking a train and a couple of buses to get to a friend’s art exhibition, I had seen a ’69 Chevelle wagon, a ’77 International Scout II (which deserves its own feature), and this R33-generation (1995 – ’98) Nissan Skyline GT-R. According to Car And Driver, not even 17,000 of these were produced over its four-year run, and none of them were sold as new cars in the United States. This GT-R must be from one of the first three years of this generation, with the age 25 being the magic number at which they may legally be imported.
I saw this car coming and was intrigued by its paint scheme, large wing, and the roar of its exhaust. I thought it might have been a concurrent, second generation, U.S.-market Nissan 240SX with a body kit and a zealous owner. I was too busy snapping photos of the car while it passed the bus stop where I was waiting to notice that it was the driver, and not a passenger, who was in the seat closest to where I stood. Once I caught a glimpse of those four, round taillamps as the car zoomed northwest on Clybourn near Ashland, I knew I had just spotted a rare and special beast in the urban wilderness of Chicago’s West DePaul district. As I flipped through the pictures using the LCD screen on my camera, it occurred to me how much practice I would need to shift gears with my left hand before I felt comfortable taking a powerful car like this out on the road.
The R33 originally came in three states of trim and tune which included the base GT-R, the more advanced V-Spec, and the racing-oriented N1 which featured a stiffer suspension and was stripped of key features (air conditioning, antilock brakes, sound system, and the rear wiper and hardware) to make it lighter. An R33 in any form was a beast. Try 276 horsepower from its twin-turbocharged, 2.6 liter V6, and 271 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. With its standard five-speed manual transmission, it was capable of doing 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds, also according to a period test from Car And Driver. It could also get to the century mark at just under thirteen seconds, a time at which my old, four cylinder-equipped ’88 Mustang would have still been struggling to get to sixty, with no other passengers and the air off.
By its appearance and by dint of its age and exclusivity, there’s no telling how this example might have been modified or how many horses are under the hood. A car like this is just outside the orbit of what normally captures my attention, but as I had mentioned in my first, new essay of 2022, I have my cousin to thank for putting certain JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) models on my radar, which includes the Nissan Skyline. Trust me when I tell you that if he was writing the accompanying text, this piece might have been three times as long. All of us, including me, will just have to be satisfied with these few snaps and words about one of my more exotic automotive finds spotted in motion so far this year.
Bucktown, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, May 14, 2022.
Click here for related reading from Tatra87 about this car’s four-door relative.
There is next to zero likelihood that’s an actual GT-R; you aren’t going to add aftermarket wide body front fenders and whatever that is going on at the rear to achieve that effect on a car that already is. More likely a relatively tame GTS25 (190ps, 170 ft-lb) or GTS25t (250ps, 217 ft-lb) with a RB25 I-6 under hood, which are dime a dozen.
It’s great to have experts in the readership. Now to enlist more writers and photographers! Thanks for the pointers.
I wouldn’t consider these dime-a-dozen, in any major Midwestern city. It’s possible I simply ignored others, but I cannot recall seeing another RHD Skyline of this generation in traffic, and I (as they say) get around.
I should clarify; in terms of R33 Skylines, the RB25 cars are dime-a-dozen. I should also say that if you are going to see a JDM import anywhere in the US, which would be a rarity, Skylines are likely the most common thing it’s going to be. They aren’t rare cars, and are still relatively affordable used from Japan.
What on earth do you mean? These are the holy grail for tuners – along with the MK4 Supra. My guess would be that there is a lot higher chance it’s modified than not if you see a Skyline.
My point is Skyline ≠ GT-R. Most Skylines aren’t turbos, most didn’t have ATTESSA, and most aren’t particularly fast cars from the factory in the first place.
Mods or not, you aren’t turning a “normal” Skyline into a well-rounded GT-R rivaling machine without spending GT-R level money to do so.
For a lot of Americans their first exposure to this car was in a video game…
It was probably mine, as well – on my cousin’s Playstation. I had heard of a lot of JDM models before, but not the Skyline before this.
It certainly was for me. GT3 on my cousin’s PS2.
Though far from common, I’ve seen a few examples of this Skyline generation roaming around here in Virginia. A surprising number of them are modified, and/or in visibly scruffy condition, which surprises me for a car that takes so much effort to obtain.
Last year I caught up with this one in I-495’s typically fast-moving traffic.
I like the design a lot – a modern looking, attractive coupe is awfully hard to find.
And I’ve often wondered how on earth I’d adjust to shifting gears with my left hand, should I ever have the opportunity to drive a RHD car. I’m sure I’d have more than one embarrassing episode of some sort in the process of getting used to it.
You know, maybe it’s just me – I am left-handed and in many things somewhat ambidextrous (as many lefties can relate to, it’s just something you learn in elementary school once you realize that turning the pencil sharpener the wrong way is worthless and left-handed scissors suck) — but I haven’t ever found it all that difficult to drive a manual from the right side seat. I did it for several weeks across the British Isles (lots of winding roads in Scotland) and even in the USVI when it was still possible to get a standard transmission on some rentals. It just came natural.
I’m glad to hear that! Maybe some day I’ll get that opportunity, but as someone who isn’t remotely ambidextrous, I’ll just keep in mind that my mileage may vary…
I also think the coupe is such an attractive car. It’s hard for me to be objective, though, given the Skyline’s popularity and lore around it. Stated another way, if it wasn’t such a hallowed car in the tuner circuit, would I still find it as attractive? I do really like it.
I have seen a handful of JDM imports on the roads around DFW. In fact, there is a dealer specializing in imports of JDM products a few miles from where I live, and there is often a recently arrived example parked out front. Much of the stock seems to consist of older Toyota products, including a couple of Crowns of the type featured in Tatra87’s posts. I have seen exactly one Skyline there, but whether it was an actual GT-R or a clone, I could not say.
In the pictures above, it appears the driver and some friends are having fun just cruising on a Saturday night, which is the perfect occasion for exercising a car like this Skyline. My compliments again to a good eye and a quick (camera) shot to capture the moment.
William, thank you so much. In your second paragraph, you articulated very well the Saturday evening vibe I was feeling when I captured these shots. I do remember catching a glimpse of one of them noticing me photographing them, and I can only hope they knew I meant no disrespect at all.
The Fast and the Furious comes to Chicago! Why stop at Tokyo Drift?
In a CC preview moment I caught up to a similar totally tricked out 240SX notch back coupe yesterday on the freeway. What was most surprising about that car, was that it had opened up, flared wheel wells. Inside those wells were conventionally located wheels. None of the that crazy camber “stance car” look that is so popular with the tuner kids.
The Skylines, ( I really love that name!) are handsome cars. I can see a little of the look in the last of the Preludes, the second gen Acura Legend, (another great name!) and of course the 240SX. Nissan should have called their new GTR a Skyline. That’s the performance car that I’d buy if I could afford a high dollar performance car.
I agree that the “Skyline” name has some real magic, especially within the context of a large, urban environment. The name lends itself to feeling part of something big.
I also see some Prelude, especially from a rear three-quarter perspective.
Great photos, thank you.
It’s not that difficult to change gear with the other hand. I live in the UK, so left hand is normal, but I’ve owned a LHD VW here and I’ve driven hire cars in Europe.
I find it more difficult driving an automatic, the ones I’ve driven have floor levers, I don’t find the change pattern intuitive and I find myself looking down all the time to check what I’ve selected.
When I had the LHD VW I was also regularly driving a RHD car and sometimes went to change gear with the door handle if I’d driven both in the same day.
I learnt to drive in a Mini with a magic wand gearlever and the imfamous Austin Maxi. I’ve owned Citroen 2CV and rear engined VW vans, including a 5 speed so maybe I’m just used to weird gearchanges. The worst I’ve experienced was a 6 speed Toyota Yaris about 10 years ago.
Thank you so much.
To be honest and the more I think about it, driving any manual might be a bit tricky for me in 2022. I think the last time I drove a stick was several years ago, behind the wheel of my brother’s final-generation SAAB 9-5. I’d sure give it a go, though.
I’ll have to look up the Mini and its gear selector, as I’m not familiar and now I’m curious.
OMG… The CC Effect knows no bounds!!!!
Just this past weekend, my wife and I were driving up Belair Road (US-1 from Perry Hall to Kingsville) where, just before the Gunpowder River, I spotted one of these dead ahead. In my worst, politically incorrect attempt at a stereotypical Asian accent, I said to her, “Rook… it’s Godzirra”.
She (not a car person at all) replied, “What the heck are you talking about?”
So I explained it to her. I said that these are finally old enough to import to the US. She said, it’s just a Nissan, right? – Well, she got the make right… Kudos for that. When I explained that this was no Sentra, she was like, “What do you mean a new one costs over $100,000 ?!?!?!”
I said that this one was special. That car is from Japan, and its driver will be in the passenger seat if it’s the real deal. When we passed it, sure enough, smiling away the whole time, that driver was indeed on the right side of the car.
Since our local cars and coffee is on Saturday mornings in Northern Baltimore County, there are a lot of classic cars of all types, shortly after the event breaks up, that cruise up and down Belair Road. It was the first time I’ve spotted a Skyline of this vintage though.
Nice catch, Joseph! – and your comment about shifting with the left hand? – Yeah, I mentioned that to my wife as well that day. – CC Effect indeed.
Your wife still gets points for identifying it as a Nissan! This is a pretty unusual example of the CC Effect, and to your point, it continually surprises me.
As Jose notes, it’s 2Fast and 2Furious. And in fact is done up as a tribute to Brian’s car in 2Fast2Furious (the second in the never-ending series of films). I guess we don’t have a lot of FF fans here on CC. I actually enjoy the films.
That said, I followed these cars during my relatively brief enthusiasm for Japanese cars in the 90s. The Skyline seemed to be a very respectable car, and that was of course added to by its forbidden fruit designation in the US. If I recall correctly, there were people at the time who imported JDM cars and actually went to the trouble to federalize them, but this made them super rare and ridiculously expensive.
Here you go….
https://youtu.be/EKvs9QoWFJI?t=47
Only difference is that this one is an R33 and Walker’s is an R34. But obviously a tribute as you say.
My favorite, and most head-scratching, parts are the gear-shifting sounds in these films. LOL! I don’t know where to start….
Jeff, I don’t think I’ve seen but one entry in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, and I honestly can’t remember which one. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, but rather that I was just along for the ride. Thinking about it now, I do vaguely recall some “Fast & Furious” associations with the Skyline.
I bought a couple of scale, die-cast models from a site once, and they now send me regular updates on their merchandise. I’m sure I’ve seen a few “2F2F”-themed Skyline models in their promotions.
I can only imaging how shocked you were when you realized what you were seeing, Joseph! Even though I don’t get around much, I have seen quite a few here in Australia (no, the R33 was never sold here new), and they are a lovely car in stock form. the mods to this look interesting and reasonably tasteful, but….
Nissan product planning blew it big time discontinuing the Skyline in Australia just when interesting models were coming on stream.
And because I love R33s, here’s another! 🙂 This one’s the NISMO version.
That’s a beautiful scale model.
And you are correct – GT-R or no (likely “no”, apparently), realizing this was not a U.S.-sold Nissan blew my mind once I was able to examine these photos more carefully!
Another reason I almost never leave the house without my camera. Lately this summer, though, I’ve managed to see interesting cars with nothing better than my phone on me with which to take pictures, so there will be a few essays I’ve put together that will feature pictures with less than crystalline quality. We use what we have.
I hear you Joe. I review the number of photos I’ve taken over the past year, and increasingly they’re taken mostly on my phone. The quality is much worse than what I could get with my “real” camera…if mostly because I refuse to spend $800+ to buy a device that replaces several that I already have which do a better job…but I’m a lazy human and it’s what I have on me.
Although not the featured car, nonetheless still in demand by the tuner crowd is the Nissan Silvia Spec R which resembles the Skyline. These are starting to show up in my part of the world. I recently appraised a 99 model which has more kms than usual, but still in decent condition.
Powered by a 2.0 litre, fuel injected and turbocharged engine it pumps out 247 horsepower. This Spec R has some additional options such as additional body parts, rear wing, side skirts. The young owner educated me thoroughly on these cars of which only 37,598 were sold throughout Asia.
I appreciate the styling of the Silvia and other similar Nissan JMD models. I don’t think I would be comfortable driving a RHD car and trying to pass another vehicle on a two lane road would be a white knuckle affair.
Not particularly rare cars here thousands have come in ex JDM used way back these were a big deal in Australian touring car racing and very successful but the ones you can buy bear only a visual resemblance to the Gibson Motorsport rocketship,, they arent anywhere near as fast and lack AWD.
Train-spotter here, but you’ve caught something far more rare than an R33. It’s wearing an R34 nose (front fenders, hood, headlights, possibly bumper), which makes it an R33.4. Not factory of course, but not too difficult as the factory R34 fenders and headlights bolt straight onto the R33. The hood is a direct fit too, but does require a couple of spacers between the lower R33 hood hinges and the R34 hood in order to match up with the fenders. The factory fender lines don’t match, but the aftermarket ones do. The same R34 parts fit the WC34 Stagea station wagon too.
Such nose swaps are popular (albeit uncommon) in the JDM Nissan tuner world as the late-80s-late-90s Skyline, Laurel, Cefiro, Stagea and Silvia use basically the same structure under the panels. The names are usually blended to represent the two donors – eg Lauvia, Lauline, Skyfiro etc.
So there you go, a useless piece of information that no-one else cares about!
I care! I was coming here to say exactly the same things. I guess you and I probably are the biggest Nissan JDM spotters on here though…
I also care. This kind of car is so far outside the wheelhouse of what I typically spot and/or write a few words about, so thanks to you (and Cjiguy, above), I learned.
There’s another JDM car I spotted blocks from my house that I photographed and have absolutely no idea what to do about. I may end up punting those pics to Tatra87 to see if he has any interest at all in writing about it. Or, I could find some other creative angle from which to write about it. We’ll see!
That’s brave to drive this in Chicago. But you see all sorts of stuff during the summer, I saw an F430 on Lake Shore last month.