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Nissan Skyline GT-R
Mental Oriental
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This could well be the limit for car modifications. That's it; the end of the line. Nissan's new Skyline GT-R has so many scoops, strakes, wings, spoilers, diffuser ducts, intake vents, wheel arch bulges, speed humps and other add-on doo-das that there's actually no car left. |
The Skyline (the R34) is awesome in an over-the-top way. Its electronically controlled, actively-suspensioned four-wheel-drive chassis is more clever than Stephen Hawking, its engine more muscly than Arnie and if there's one bit of it that the engineers haven't lightened, strengthened, tuned or tweaked they're not telling. It drives superbly, too, with a six-speed gearbox so you can use all the power from its two turbochargers, brakes that stop you with eyeball-bulging force, and handling that lets you think you're brilliant, even if you drive like your Gran. Apart from slightly twitchy steering, thanks to using tyres so low-profile that they look like a coat of black Dulux round the enormous alloy wheels, the Skyline is a dream to drive.
And it's even nice to sit in. The adjustable racing-style seats have been covered in lovely squeaky, smelly leather from our own Connolly. But the best bit is the computer game style display on the dash. It checks up on turbo boost, throttle opening, exhaust temperature and all sorts of other stuff and it's all downloadable to your PC. Which all means that you can analyse exactly why you're losing that precious half-second at the left-hander past the chip shop. On your daily commute you could shave off, ooh, whole seconds from your driving time. It's pointless, but it's a laugh. Like the Skyline, really. Wings, turbos, data telemetry it's all a right giggle. If you've got a big enough sense of humour to drive this, it could be the best car in the world. Nissan are only bringing in 100 to Britain, so see if your bank manager can take a joke and get your order in now.
