For 10 years the main automotive thrust of Steve Mitchell's life was to someday own a Nissan Skyline GT-R. For most of us, any GT-R would do, but Steve specifically wanted a 1989 to 1994 R32 GT-R, and his reasons were simple. The R32 was smaller, lighter and less complicated than the more luxurious R33 and R34 GT-Rs that followed. Steve also loved the R32's bulging fenders and long list of performance accomplishments.
During its development, the R32 set a production car lap record at the famed Nurburgring racetrack in Germany, beating the previous record by an amazing 25 seconds. In FIA Group N sedan racing in Japan, the R32 reigned undefeated for three straight years, winning 29 races in a row. And in Australia, the car was finally banned from racing after many failed attempts to slow it, including 160 kg of ballast and limiting the boost to 19 psi.
What's even more amazing is how impressive the R32 GT-R's brag sheet remains 13 years after the car first hit the street. The GT-R is motivated by a 276 hp 2600cc inline six known as the RB26DETT featuring four valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams and twin turbochargers. With a big 86mm bore, a super short 73.7mm stroke and seven main bearings supporting a fully counterweighted crank, the RB was born to rev.
Twin turbochargers featuring ultra-light, quick-spooling ceramic turbines force-feed this thirsty engine. These turbos are so quick spooling, they make a few pounds of boost while simply cruising down the freeway. A huge front-mount intercooler gives the GT-R a mean, business-like purposeful look.
The GT-R has an all around, multi-link suspension with a sophisticated geometry that's still considered state of the art today. Four-wheel ventilated disc brakes grabbed by large, four-piston front and two-piston rear calipers work with a four-channel ABS system to guarantee short stops under any condition.
The car also features Nissan's controversial Super HICAS four-wheel steering system, which is either loved or hated. The rear differential is a conventional clutch-type limited-slip differential, which is preferred by the performance driver over the new technology viscous limited-slip differential that came later in Nissan's history.
The car's crowning feature, however, is its drivetrain. The GT-R has full-time four-wheel drive and was the first production car in history to have a continuously variable, computer-controlled torque split system called ATTESA. We don't know what this obscure acronym means, but we know it works and works well.
The GT-R can go from 100-percent rear-wheel drive to a 50-50 power split depending on what the ATTESA computer tells the car to do. The ATTESA's programming logic is to keep the car rear-wheel drive and engage front-wheel drive only when needed to optimize acceleration or cornering. The engine's power is split seamlessly via a hydro mechanical clutch in the transaxle.
Sometimes ATTESA feeds more power to the front wheels, such as in a hard launch situation when the rear tires spin, but sometimes, like in a slow cornering understeer event, ATTESA helps rotate the car by feeding torque to the rear wheels. Either way the operation is transparent to the driver. He just thinks he's driving a well-balanced, extremely capable car.
Steve's dream of having a GT-R of his own was realized in late 2000 when he purchased this 1992 R32 from Motorex, the company in Torrance, Calif., that imports and federalizes them. From the start, Steve wanted a streetable track-driven car, not a pampered garage queen, so the Nismo catalog was opened and many parts were ordered up and installed.