Nissan’s Skyline GT-R is not only remembered as an iconic road and race car but also its timeless two door body style. An interesting car was discovered recently at the Classic Japan event, a four door GT-R.
Four door you say? Back in 1998, Nissan commissioned its tuning division Autech, to build a limited-edition version of the GT-R, that featured four doors instead of the regular two. The car was built to honour the 40th anniversary of the original Nissan Skyline and so was named the ‘Nissan R33 GT-R 40th Anniversary Autech’. Nissan commenced a limited production run for the 1998 model year, hoping to sell 350-400 units. Public response was positive, resulting in a total of 416 units being built.
The car shared its body with a four door Skyline R33, but rear doors and rear quarter panels were newly designed to replicate the two door GT-R. It also scored the bespoke GT-R front bumper, grille, custom side skirts and rear bumper that resembled the ones found on the two-door version. The rear spoiler wasn’t used, giving the four-door more of a sleeper look. There were three exterior colours available, being white, silver or purple.
Under the bonnet of the Autech GT-R sits one of the greatest engines of all time, the 2.6 Litre twin turbo straight-six engine (RB26DETT) as found in the standard Skyline R33 GT-R. Engine outputs were 206kW and 368Nm. Drive was sent to all wheels via the ATESSA E-TS Pro AWD system and a five-speed manual gearbox was fitted. The sedan version tipped the scales at 1560kg, 30kg heavier than the two-door R33 GT-R. Extra weight didn’t result in a noticeable drop in performance, with the Autech GT-R completing the 0-100kph sprint in 5.7 seconds and achieving a top speed of 250km/h. Suspension setup and Brembo brakes were also borrowed from the R33 GT-R.
Inside, the front bucket seats and steering wheel were borrowed from the two-door version, but rather than using the factory Skyline sedan’s rear bench, Autech devised a custom one that featured individual bolstered buckets.
Seeing this little known and rare Autech GT-R for the first time in the flesh was a personal highlight of the Classic Japan event and credit to the owner for driving and displaying this wonderful car.
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