FearLess Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) In a few weeks time, South Africans will celebrate Heritage Day (September 24). The aim is to celebrate our different cultures and traditions and in that process learn more about each other. I recently had the opportunity to celebrate a different form of heritage with Nissan and its famed Skyline GT-R performance cars, which celebrate half a century of being the blank canvas for enthusiasts around the world. There were several heritage cars at the event and I rode shotgun in a heavily-modified version of a silver R34 unit. Millennials will know the R34 from the Gran Turismo video game from the early 2000s. Built from 1999 to 2002, its 2.8-litre inline six-cylinder engine. The car I drove in made a gazilion kilowatts and all the pops and whistles launched me into motoring nirvana. 50th Anniversary Edition The 'launch' centred around the latest incarnation of the R35 GT-R, which has been around since 2012. For 2019, the 50th Anniversary Edition is available in three special colour combos (Bayside Blue, Pearl White and Super Silver) from the Japan GP series. In case you forgot, the R35 is powered by a 3.8-litre turbocharged engine producing between 408kW and 416kW, while torque is measured at 632Nm. It's priced at an eye-watering R2 415 000 for the Bayside Blue and R10 000 less for the other variants. What's it like to drive? Admittedly my first time driving this special edition of the GT-R wasn't long enough to form a proper opinion. I tried a few launch control starts and what struck me is how brutal and mechanical they felt. By switching the engine, suspension settings to full 'R' mode. Compared to newer high-performance cars, the GT-R doesn't feel that quick behind the wheel and the claimed sub 3-second 0-100km/h time feels as fake as a loan-shark's smile. Perhaps at the coast it would feel a lot faster. Edited April 3, 2020 by -Dark Closed topic / Complete 1 day
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