Calsonic R32 Skyline GT-R replica gets the beans at Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb

The dust has settled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the fastest cars from the week’s hillclimb are now known. Coming in in the top ten was a replica of the Group A Calsonic R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R, one of the world’s most faithful recreations of the iconic All-Japan Touringcar Championship racer. It absolutely scorched its way up the course, and it’s worth a watch because it’s beauty in motion.

This car, which was built from an actual BNR32 road car, has had nearly every component altered except for the body and two subframes. Its RB26 can generate between 650 and 1,000 horsepower, depending on the turbo boost pressure. Driven by British touring car racer Jake Hill, it tore its way up the hill in 48.91 seconds, just a few hundredths of a second behind a 1,250-horse Czinger 21C supercar.

Other top finishers included the Subaru Family Huckster, a Goodwood veteran built from a 1983 GL Wagon. It came in 2nd before an unfortunate encounter with the hay bales. The Subaru Project Midnight, a 670-horsepower WRX built specifically to challenge the hill took the top spot for gasoline cars and came in second overall, right after Ford’s 1,400-horsepower electric Supervan.

Last but not least was Ryan Tuerck’s Toyota Stout, powered by a Toyota 3S-GTE engine making between 600 and 650 horsepower. While not in contention for a top time, the drift truck delighted crowds with a smoke show.

The Subaru and Stout are entertaining to watch, but have very little to do with the cars they ostensibly based on. The R32 has a pretty fascinating build story, in which creator Ric Wood set out to build as authentic a replica of the Group A champion as he could.  For more, check out Goodwood’s profile of the car from when it debuted at the event in 2020. According to Wood, the roll cage tube thickness differs from that of the original, as it had to be increased to match modern safety standards. Besides that, every nut and bolt is true to the original, Group A specification, which explains why it looks so good charging up the hill.