One thing's for sure, Alison is a die-hard GT-R fan. He's owned multiple Skylines in the past and knows the names of pretty much every GT-R owner in the US. Half of them are probably programmed into his cell phone. So it didn't take much convincing to make him agree to a drive. Unfortunately, having the first R35 in the country tends to draw quite a bit of attention and Alison's new ride had been driven harder than he would have preferred when he loaned it out previously. Due to an understandably large dollar investment, we agreed that we wouldn't be running the car through our usual gamut of testing and wouldn't be making the long drive out to the track. But we still wanted to see what an R35 felt like on home pavement, so we headed for the next best thing: mountain roads.
We wouldn't be driving like we were in the Monte Carlo Rally, but the undulating mountain roads that curve above Los Angeles are a good way to find a rhythm and get a feel for how a car behaves. To make the comparison complete, we called in a white R33 GT-R, owned by Import Tuner editor, Carter Jung, and a blue R34 GT-R belonging to private owner Willy Tseng. The AE86 and S13 kids on the mountain had no idea what was coming for them.
Each of the GT-Rs give off quite a presence, but there's nothing quite like power in numbers. We've seen Jung's white R33 before, but after receiving huge crimson AP Racing front and rear brakes (and a fresh wash), it doesn't appear like the leaking beater that has commuted to our office. Jung is set on entering this year's Ultimate Street Car Challenge with this very machine. He has a ways to go with his near stock engine, but the car could be built into a suitable candidate.
On the flipside, Tseng's R34 GT-R is the definition of a strong contender. We first spied this blue monster during a track day at The Streets of Willow, where Tseng was putting his claimed 716 wheel-hp (on C16 race gas) monster through its paces. Aside from a lower ride height and some 18x11 Enkei RPF1s, the car looks almost factory. That's not downplaying it much, as a factory R34 is still a vicious-looking, butch and boxy machine.
As overtly aggressive as the R33 and R34 are, nothing stops traffic like the first R35 GT-R on US streets. Black and sinister, Alison's car causes heads to turn and gazes to gather when it arrives at our rendezvous point. At first, many bystanders are thrown off, not sure what the machine before them could be. Some are left in the dark (no doubt later recounting stories that they spied a 'monster Lambo'), while others widen their eyes even larger after catching a glimpse of the red-and-silver GT-R badge. Never before have so many cell phone cameras emerged so quickly.
The cars are all different in terms of color, generation, power and modification, but there's something so right about seeing three GT-Rs prowling together. The lineage and history between them is apparent-you can see Skyline GT-R DNA oozing from every panel and seam.
As we get closer to Mt. GT-R, traffic begins to die off. Civilization is left behind and we grow closer and closer to the winding, twisty roads that scare off banal Camrys and Explorers. There's no Starbucks out here, just mile after mile of driving enjoyment. We can't help but push a little harder.
With the deep roar of the R34's titanium exhaust and the Jspec Connect R35's factory wail bouncing off the cliffs, we proceed nose-to-tail along the ever-tightening two-lane road. The front-running R35 sets the pace, using its immense powerband and all-wheel drive system to hustle through the corners like no other 3800-pound car should be capable of doing. Jung's R33 follows suit and the R34 closes up the rear with 275-width Nitto NT01 R-compound tires, monoblock Brembos and an expensive, imported Aragosta suspension.