Steve Parker Motoring / The Car Nut: SKYLINE GT-R: BUY IT AT NISSAN DEALERS IN 2008

EXCLUSIVE PHOTO ALBUM! 2009 GUMBALL RALLY 3000

See Steve's exclusive Gumball Rally video from NBC-TV's Whipnotic website (copy and paste): http://www.whipnotic.com/videos/viewvideo-558.html Over 120 gas-guzzling super-exotic sports cars, Hummers, Cadillac Escalade SUVs and an occasional interesting older car roared on May 2, 2009, from a California beach-side parking lot directly onto I-10, the Santa Monica Freeway, also known as the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway, for the start of this year's Gumball Rally. The world's most politically-incorrect automotive street event, the Gumball Rally 3000, left Santa Monica (CA) Pier on Saturday, May 2, 2009 and headed toward its ultimate destination of Miami, FL eight days later. Participants reportedly paid $44,000 per car/team to enter the event. Though the Gumball stresses the skills of its drivers (and their cars) there are only two race track "special section" stops scheduled for the 3,000-mile long event, which will be run on public roads with all entrants subject to all highway rules and regulations. All photos (c) 2009 by www.SteveParker.com

April 23, 2006

SKYLINE GT-R: BUY IT AT NISSAN DEALERS IN 2008

NISSAN'S LEGENDARY SKYLINE GT-R IS GOING TO BE SOLD AS A --- NISSAN IN THE USA. INFINITI DEALERS ARE RATTLED THAT THEY WON'T GET THEIR OWN SPORTS CAR; PRICES NEAR $45,000 TO START.

When we saw the latest version of the fabulous Skyline GT-R at the Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan execs told us they had not yet decided whether Nissan or Infiniti dealers would get the honor of putting this car in their showrooms.

Nissan made the decision at the recent New York Auto Show and Infiniti dealers are more than upset --- and they are steaming! The Skyline GT-R will be sold at Nissan dealers in the US, with prices starting around $45,000.

Infiniti dealers do not have their "own" sports car to sell; their G-35 is a reworked version of the latest Nissan Z-car. Great a car as it is, most people consider it a softened version of the "real" sports car at Nissan dealers, and overpriced to boot.

The car shown here, which we photographed and videotaped at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, 2005, is, according to Nissan officials we spoke with, "90% correct" as far as the final version of the car. That final version of the Skyline (and there's no guarantee that the Skyline name, as well-known as it is to the tuner crowd, will be used in the US) will be in the US late in 2007 as a 2008 model.

Also no final word on drivetrain, drive wheels and certainly no performance figures are available as yet.

The Skyline GT was introduced to the Japanese public in a big way in May of 1964 at the Second Japan Grand Prix held at the Suzuki Circuit race track. It was built by Prince, a company which later merged with Nissan. The car had lost the race the year before and developed a bad reputation.

However, in this 1964 event, with its 1.5 liter straight-6 engine the Skyline GT won the finals, battling head-to-head throughout with an undisguised Porsche 904 privateer effort. The Japanese public was just starting their all-out love affair with auto racing, which continues unabated to this day, and with the Japan-model car beating the Porsche, Skyline became an instant legend.

In Japan, Skyline went on to not only win but dominate Group A racing. The car also won overseas, capping the endurance event at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. GT-R debuted in 1993 and won all 29 races in its class in the next four years. The 1999 GT-R V spec'd out with a 2.6 liter straight-6 engine, dual intercooled turbochargers, DOHC with 4 valves per cylinder.