The one-off GT-ST boasts of performance figures that rival Porsche’s 918 Spyder. However, there's an ace card to play...
Nissan's R33 Skyline remains the black swan of Japan's Skyline family, although there doesn’t appear to be any specific reason beyond: “it’s a bit heavy.” Chris Harris, a lead presenter on BBC'sTop Gear, even stated that the R33 was his preferred method of transport over 'Godzilla' – that's the R34 for those outwith performance car circles.
Dig a little deeper and this common criticism feels wholeheartedly unfounded. Looking at the spec sheets, an R33 tops the scales only 3% heavier than its predecessor, with the R34 weighing 22 lbs more. Regardless of perception, the R33 has repeatedly proven itself as a worthy candidate for your empty garage space.
What we have here, however, is quite different. Although not the full-fat GT-R, this GT-ST has to be the only one of its kind in the world. The reason for that? Carbon fiber. A lot of carbon fiber. So much of the lightweight shiny stuff in fact, that the whole car has effectively been re-built using just that.
The visual effect is über cool, boasting the obvious bonus of feather-light weight. Shaving almost 1000 lbs from its factory mass (3500 lbs), the community will certainly struggle to call this particular R33 ‘overweight’. With such an aggressive stance, we dare you to call it 'fat' to its face.
For many, the R33 GTST will undoubtedly be the pick of the bunch. With some gentle modifications, the vehicle matches and exceeds the power of the GTR, but without all the heavy 4WD paraphernalia that is largely redundant if you know how to get the best out of the chassis.
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Under the bonnet is the famous RB25 block, with a thumping great Precision Turbos 6466 installed for good measure. Although the owner – Jason – was reluctant to give full details of power output, reliable sources have confirmed that this diet-proud R33 is pushing well over 600hp. That's a figure of nearly 500hp per ton.
To give an idea of how utterly bonkers that figure is, this is just 20hp off the stats you would find in the brochure of Porsche’s 918.
Other modifications on this particular example are smart-purple anodised aluminium parts, that set off the carbon exquisitely. These include some engine parts, brake calipers and other small items colour coded to match. The results speak for themselves, as does the sound of that unmistakable RB25 power plant coupled with that Precision Turbos 6466. Enjoy!
