This Nissan – already considered by aftermarket tuning circles as one of the fastest in the world – is the Skyline GTR. This car is also one of the greatest sports car ever made, and in stock form, the Skyline GT-R already delivers earth-shaking performance. Given heavy modifications to its inline six-cylinder twin-turbo engine, you can develop a tire-shredding sports coupe packing a minimum of 800hp.
One such power-packed Skyline is found right in Philippine soil. The astounding R34 GT-R of Manuel Go of Autoplus Sportszentrium, a drag racing and high-performance car enthusiast, has a RB26DETT engine with high performance bolt-ons, like a new twin-turbocharger, that can pump out an astounding 900 hp at the crank and 800 hp at the wheels based on latest dyno testing. And that’s just the initial engine power output, as Autoplus Sportszentrium in Greenhills is still not finished with modifying Mr. Go’s Skyline.
Initial testing of the car on the tarmac has already yielded very very impressive results.
"I was informed that the car did 220kph in 3rd gear at 8,000rpm during track testing. 220kph doesn’t sound bad, especially considering that the car revs till 10,500rpm and with three gears to go, I’m sure it’ll do more than 300kph easily," Mr. Go said. "Imagine if we didn’t run out of tarmac."
As to how powerful Mr. Go’s Skyline GT-R will be at the end of its modification process is being much awaited by car enthusiasts who have been keeping their eye on the project. And motorheads at Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI) are also keeping their eyes on the project, just because the Skyline forms part of Nissan’s great racing heritage.
"The fact that the Skyline’s RB26DETT inline six-cylinder engine can be modified into a monster capable of belting out at least 800hp demonstrates the technological superiority of Nissan. The car shares its drive-train technology with the X-TRAIL, the suspension bits and design with the 350Z, and body rigidity traits with the Sentra and Cefiro," explains Raymond Tribdino, market and product planning manager at NMPI.
Mr. Go’s Skyline, which started out as right hand drive unit in Japan, was modified to left hand drive in the US, and shipped to the Philippines for monster modifications in its engine, suspension and braking, with body bolt-ons added to make it look tougher and run better.
It turns out that in the US, there are a good number of Skyline GT-Rs, like Mr. Go’s, that have undergone heavy modifications to churn out in excess of 600hp. In stock or unmodified, the RB26DETT engine of the Skyline GT-R pumps out 280hp at 6,800 rpm, which is already a very high figure for Japanese sports cars.
So why modify a high-performance sports car into a super performance machine?
"Well, I can’t seem to get satisfied with a stock car. I always want to get more out of the car. Whether power, handling or cosmetics," Mr. Go said.
The most significant change in Mr. Go’s Skyline is the installation of an HKS GT3240 Twin Turbo Kit, with HKS tubular stainless steel exhaust manifold and HKS racing wastegate.
Critical to the development of Mr. Go’s Skyline GT-R is Craydon Racing Developments (CRD) based in Australia, which played a major role in the development of the engine, like crankshaft stressing.
The most powerful Skyline GT-R (and perhaps the most powerful roadcar in the Philippines) will be on display at the Custom Car and Truck Show, which will be held at SM Megamall starting Sept. 29. (NMPI NewsService)
