Some cars leave an indelible mark on all of us – cars that transcend the boundaries of fandom and turn out to be icons in their very own right. And yes, I mean all of us.
For those who don’t have even the smallest soft spot for an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, I’m calling bulls**t, respectfully. There’s no way you were a automobile enthusiast within the 2000s without fond memories of Need for Speed: Underground, 2 Fast 2 Furious, or some grainy YouTube clip of gold Top Secret or white Mine’s GT-Rs defying physics – in 240p.
Mickey Andrade and the Throtl team have taken that 2000s nostalgia and mixed it up with 2024 tuning style and technology to create a monster of a Skyline, debuting the construct on the Meguiar’s booth on the 2024 SEMA Show.
Full disclosure: this isn’t a BNR34 GT-R, and Throtl doesn’t claim it’s. As a substitute, they’re happy with the work put into upgrading the bodywork and whole powertrain of what rolled off Nissan’s production line as a rear-wheel-drive ER34 GT-T in 1999. The beefy Pro Street Radial tyres on custom Motegi Racing wheels in any respect 4 corners make it clear – this Skyline’s retrofitted all-wheel-drive setup means business.
The transmission tunnel has been re-fabricated to accommodate a transfer case, and the front chassis legs have been modified to suit driveshafts, ensuring power reaches the front wheels via a drag-spec Powerglide 2-speed transmission. The rear is driven by a Platinum Racing Products (PRP) 8.8-inch billet differential with upgraded driveshafts.
The hood-exit exhaust, bead-lock wheels and a parachute mounted on the rear all point to the Skyline’s intentions – drag racing.
Under the hood, you’ll find an RB25 block bored to 2.6L, fitted with an RB26 05U cylinder head. A Garrett G45-1600 turbocharger provides around 32psi (2.2bar) of boost in the present state of tune to deliver 1,219hp, with a CSF Race radiator ensuring reliable cooling. MoTeC engine management system keeps all the things in check, controlling a drive-by-wire throttle system and feeding vital data to the MoTeC digital dash display. Oh, and yes, it has NOS. The massive bottles. It couldn’t be a Fast and Furious tribute without it, could it?
A Zestek steering wheel controller and Rywire CAN module put near-total control of the automobile’s systems at the motive force’s fingertips – two-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive, adjustable power levels and a spread of driving aids are all easily selectable.
However the fun doesn’t stop here: the ultimate engine for this automobile will likely be an RB-based design by PRP with all of the factory flaws of the RB-series ironed out. This automobile will likely be the recipient of the very first production engine of the batch, and it’s coming to the US all the best way from Australia.
The brand new engine will likely be tuned for 1,400hp, so it’s good the Skyline is provided with a full, gusseted roll cage and a carbon fibre bucket seat with Sparco harness belts – safety is not any afterthought.
I’m not often a fan of movie replica cars; they often try too hard and fall short. But a homage – something that takes inspiration and goes far beyond the star automobile’s capabilities? That’s something I can get behind.
Throtl’s R34 construct (take a look at the complete video playlist here) is a fun solution to honour our collective roots in modified automobile culture without being a lazy replica. It showcases the very best of what the tuning world can offer in 2024.
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn, mariochristou.world
mariochristou.world
Photography by Darrien Craven
Instagram: _crvn_
This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
