Skyline GT-R

The R32 Skyline GT-R

The BNR32 brought the GT-R name back in August 1989, sixteen years after the last one, and was built until 1994. Nissan designed it for Group A racing: the RB26DETT, a 2,568 cc twin-turbo straight-six rated at 280 PS, drives all four wheels through ATTESA E-TS, an electronically controlled torque split, with Super HICAS rear steering and a five-speed manual. Flared arches, an aluminium bonnet and front wings and a larger intercooler set it apart from the GTS-t.

In the Japanese Touring Car Championship the R32 GT-R won all 29 races it entered, from 1990 to 1993. The V-spec of 1993 moved to 17-inch BBS wheels and Brembo brakes once the racing rules allowed the larger wheels.

What R32 GT-R owners upgrade

Many R32 owners are restoring as much as tuning, and Heritage parts are a big part of that. For power, the standard turbos have ceramic wheels that can fail with much more than factory boost, so turbo kits come early, with intercoolers, surge tanks, camshafts, front pipes and manifolds from the exhaust range. Nismo, HKS, Tomei, GReddy, Mines and Garage Active are among the makers owners choose.

Stronger clutches from the drivetrain range take the extra torque. The rear steering can be removed entirely, replaced by adjustable arms, and the brakes, sized to fit inside 16-inch wheels, were never the R32's strength, so brake upgrades are common.

Genuine parts

Early RB26 engines have a narrow oil pump drive on the crank that can fail at high rpm and take the engine with it; Nissan widened the drive during R32 production, so check which one a car has. Failing coil packs and the coil loom cause misfires, and the timing belt is due every 62,000 miles (100,000 km) or five years. HICAS can fail, and its track rods wear. Original window seals are hard to find.

The R32 GT-R was the first car in Nissan's NISMO Heritage parts programme, launched in 2017, which now includes weather stripping and power window switches. Everything else is in our genuine OEM parts catalogue.

Wheels

The R32 GT-R came on 16x8 +30 wheels with 225/50R16 tyres, and the V-spec on 17x8 +30, the same size on all four corners, on a 5x114.3 bolt pattern with M12 x 1.25 nuts. The full list is on the wheels that fit the R32 GT-R.