QotW: What’s your favorite GT-R?

This week Nissan plans to celebrate 50 years of the iconic GT-R at the New York International Auto Show. Godzilla has had many incarnations over the years, from classic street machine to world-beating race car. Designs have spanned the chrome age to the carbon fiber age, horsepower from 160 to 600, and price from $20,000 to $1.1 million. At times, it seems as if GT-Rs have comprised half the cars available in Gran Turismo. There are a lot to choose from, but if you could have any one, which would it be, and why?

What’s your favorite GT-R?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which JNC would you name your kid after?

Well, our baby is two months away and we haven’t come up with a name yet. Many suggestions this week were really great, like Kouper‘s nomination of Silvia, james‘s choice of Cefiro or Sunny, Lupus‘s recommendation of Colt, エーイダン‘s selection of Lancer, or Yuri ‘s proposal of the entire Daihatsu lineup. Banpei went with not exactly a car name, but a name closely associated with a very famous car, Ken. Akbar Fitrahadi, on the other hand, showed us that in Indonesia there are many real names based on actual cars already. The most hilarious though, was Crank_Case‘s suggestion. Sorry, we’re not really going to go with this but you’re the winner!

Bongo Frendee sounds like a groovy frood who knows where his towel is. (This is why I don’t have children)

Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.

JNC Decal smash

 

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20 Responses to QotW: What’s your favorite GT-R?

  1. Angelo says:

    I’d always go with the R32 GT-R, as I fell in love with it as a kid playing with Tomicas in the living room back in ’98.

    I would remember it as that black Night Kids version rolling across the floor being chased by a Nissan Cedric patrol car.

  2. Michael Challen says:

    Not to boast, & trying to sound as humble as I can……….

    Lucky for me it is not a question of “if you could have any one”, but rather I DO have THE one.

    1990 R32 GT-R, TH1 blue in colour, carbon Top Secret front lip, N1 turbos, full HKS exhaust, Power FC, bigger front mount, larger injectors, adjustable fuel pressure reg, Z32 AFMs, Tomei PonCams & gears, all adding up to an easy/reliable/useable 305kw (409hp) at all four wheels.

    For me it is the GT-R to have, & it is the GT-R I have always wanted.

    I’m honoured that it is parked in my garage! My dream car 🙂

  3. Madis says:

    r30 or r31 skilyne because i like boxy cars

  4. Nigel says:

    R30 in Black…(Tamiya dressed up special).
    And as seen in certain Japanese police shows…

  5. BlitzPig says:

    Hakosuka… There can be only one.

    • BW says:

      The Hakosuka has its own charm, but I was introduced to Godzilla via the R32 (thanks, Gran Turismo!). Life was never the same.

  6. Coffeejoejava says:

    1983 Skyline R30 2000RS Turbo! Or 1989 Skyline R31 GTS Autech Version

  7. Bryan says:

    1983 Skyline R30 RS2000 Turbo or 1989 Skyline R31 GTS Autech Version.

  8. banpei says:

    For me there is only one GT-R that counts: the Toyota Carina GT-R AA63! 😀
    http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2869/8756110817_650e123757_c.jpg

  9. Erik V says:

    Hako for the win! S20 is one of the best sounding naturally aspirated engines ever, right up there with Colombo V12, Small block Chevy, B16A/B18C and Jag 3.8(not necessarily that order)

  10. GSX-R35 says:

    Whichever one gets my fizzy bits fizzing best at the time!

    It sounds like a cheeky answer but let me elaborate. I’ve been a huge Nissan fan since I was a kid and a gigantic GT-R fan since I first played Gran Turismo 2. For me the R34 was the big daddy for the longest time and I was sad when production ended and the Motorex fiasco happened before I could get my hands on one in the States. I was skeptical the R35 would ever live up to the Godzilla legend but then it came out and I’m lucky to own one.

    It’s now solidly my favorite GT-R of all time. Of course, I’m lucky to have one that’s heavily modded to a respectable 800ish whp on pump but it’s still well-mannered and reliable enough I’d let my own mother drive it – if she weren’t so worried about potentially dinging my baby. With Super GT, Bathurst, and FIA GT championship wins recorded, tuned examples raging past the 3000hp limit, and styling that’s unmistakably Japanese I have to say mission accomplished to Nissan in making a worthy GT-R successor.

    But I also own a Nismo R32 which has been a long and seemingly never-ending restoration project. It has “only” half the horses of my R35, rides stiffer than a teenager that snuck into the local strip joint, and I’m cooking in it right now ’cause the AC is on the fritz so I should hate it, right? No, because racecar. Group A conquering, banned-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-stop-it racecar.

    Oh, but I’d love a Hakosuka too because that was the OG. And who could say no to a super-rare Kenmeri. Even the “unloved” R33 has that magic Nismo 400R to aspire to. Even the R30 and R31 Skylines have quirky ’80s box charm going for them.

    But I need to save up for that R34 I’ve always dreamed of having…

    So yeah, what was the question again?

    😀

  11. Charlie says:

    My favorite GTR would certainly be an Isuzu… Bellett GTR.

  12. jayrdee says:

    Call me a fanboy all you want, but this was a big turn on for me when I watched it for the first time as a little kid Lol.

    https://youtu.be/vKTppypy9DQ?t=111

  13. Josh says:

    I know it’s not really the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks GT-R but I really like the R33 Nismo 400R. The car was an absolute beast when it came out in 1997 making a mouthwatering 400hp from the specially designed RB-X GT2 engine, it was capable of speeds close to 186 mph. For almost a decade it was the the fastest GT-R you could get new from the factory (the R34 Nismo Z-Tune while boasting 100more hp than the 400R was made using used GT-R’s).

    The 400R featured more aggressive aero all around the car, a host of colour options and liveries that are exclusive to it, and a set of chrome lipped five spoke wheels. .Other than the 400R’s impressive performance the car’s styling is the perfect bridge between the more subdued style of car modification that was prevalent in the early and mid nineties and the bold, colourful,and Vinyl filled maximalist style of the early 2000’s.

    • Joshua says:

      Sorry I posted this comment twice, it’s my first time commenting on here.I didn’t know the site looked over the comments before publishing them so I posted it again thinking it didn’t work the first time.

  14. Joshua says:

    I know it’s not really the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks GT-R but I really like the R33 Nismo 400R. The car was an absolute beast when it came out in 1997 making a mouthwatering 400hp from the specially designed RB-X GT2 engine, it was capable of speeds close to 186 mph. For almost a decade it was the the fastest GT-R you could get new from the factory (the R34 Nismo Z-Tune while boasting 100more hp than the 400R was made using used GT-R’s).

    The 400R featured more aggressive aero all around the car, a host of colour options and liveries that are exclusive to it, and a set of chrome lipped five spoke wheels. .Other than the 400R’s impressive performance the car’s styling is the perfect bridge between the more subdued style of car modification that was prevalent in the early and mid nineties and the bold, colourful,and Vinyl filled maximalist style of the early 2000’s.

  15. XRaider says:

    As always the R32 GT-R…..the R34 GT-R is once my favorite but however the ’89 R32 GT-R started to grew on me a lot and so far I have 4 diecast models of it…..

  16. Land Ark says:

    I wasn’t really interested in Japanese cars until 2000 when my roommate in college brought his Playstation with Gran Turismo 2. R34 had just come out and was immediately legendary. My favorite cars from that game were Godzilla and the second gen Legacy GT wagon.

    So until October 2014 I would have said R34, however, that was when I visited a friend working in Japan. He was working as a civilian at Yakota Air Force base which not-so-coincidentally has small used car dealer right across the street, BS Auto (yep), typically stocked with JDM goodness. I made my friend take me there in his Lemon Lot Fit (of all things!) once I spotted the lot. The day I stopped by they had a lovely red GTO MR and an Efini FD RX7 but what made me weak in the knees was a flawless mostly stock R33 GTR V-Spec in gunmetal grey.

    Assuming he thought I was an enlisted man the guy working at the lot let me have the keys and start it up. I didn’t drive it an inch but I was filled with nervous excitement, just marveling at the opportunity to simply be in such forbidden fruit. And there was some pain involved. It was a 1995 so not eligible to import for several more years. And worst of all, I could have bought it on the spot at 1,280,000 yen – the pain I felt knowing I would never find one anywhere near that price in the States made walking away from that car heartbreaking.

    If an R34 had been there at that time, I would still be immovably in love with the R34. An R30? That would be my #1. it was the first GTR I had ever seen in person and it’s now the one I love. I wait patiently for January 2020 to roll around so I can start making plans to welcome one into my life.

  17. エーイダン says:

    Oh Jeez…….I’d have to say the R34…..even though in a story I’ve been working on, the R32 gets a bit of mention and praise, alongside a C110 Skyline GT-X. The R34, is simply….it’s the car that just so well captures the essence of the ’90s and 2000s. High-tech and loaded with all the whiz bangs and fancy gadgetry and under the bonnet magic. But the R32 holds a special place. The boxy unassuming looks, the brilliant AWD system, coupled with a twin-turbo setup. In my own writings, a matte black R32 tearing through the streets of Shanghai or peeling down a lonely outback highway may sound like knocking off a couple Hollywood films in one go but….my story isn’t finished yet so…anyways, I’d say the R34 is my favourite overall, but the R32…might just be…the favoured child…

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