Skyline Week 2018: The R That Started It All

To kick off our slew of spotlights for Skyline week, we start off with the car that put Nissan on the map as a force to be reckoned with. Had it not been for this generation of the Skyline GT-R, the world would have never known the true prowess of Japanese vehicles in motorsports. As today is the 2nd of March, we begin our sampling of Skylines with the BNR32 GT-R.

Winning several years worth of races in Japanese and Australian Touring Car Championships, the BNR32 truly was the giant-lizard-monster that it has since become known as. Since then, “race on sunday, sell on monday” meant the Skyline GT-R sold like hotcakes back in its motherland. But as much as the rest of the right-hand drive world enjoyed being able to drive their own pieces of Godzilla out on the streets, enthusiasts from the Philippines are faced with an odd problem - Thanks to rather dated legislation, right-hand drive vehicles are prohibited on Philippine roads entirely.

Considering the GT-R was never made in left-hand drive, R enthusiasts had to get creative with running their vehicles in the country. This meant having to start from scratch and converting the GT-R to left hand drive - from rack, to dashboard, all the way to interior and other steering bits. Because of the daunting task of doing this, conversions can range from a properly done swap to a shoddy and dismal affair that would make its owners just give up on the car entirely.

Thankfully this clean white example falls in the former category. Being one of a handful of legitimate R32 GT-Rs in Manila, this particular R focused on upgrades that would improve reliability and quality of life instead of going all-out on power mods. The RB26 found under the bonnet is pretty much standard, but has been freshly overhauled and fitted with an Adaptronic standalone ECU to keep everything in check. Tuned to around 320whp, this GT-R makes enough power to keep things interesting, but not so much as to break important bits in the driveline – this car is pretty rare around these parts after all.

The footwork end of things has been sorted thanks to a set of K-Sport Coilovers and full Big Brake Kits (BBKs) front and rear. Those of you who have a keen eye for GT-Rs may notice that this 32 borrows its shoes from the stock BNR34. As much as it is a conservative choice, the 18-inch wheels lend themselves well to keeping the lines of the R32 fresh.

Interior seating arrangements come courtesy of a pair of limited edition Cusco x Bride Stradia IIs. While the interior itself is converted cleanly, there are minor bits and bobs like the broken A/C vents and digital controls that need replacing – something that the owner likely already has in stock at home.

While this may be but a quick glance at how locals run their Skyline GT-Rs, this won’t be the last time you’ll see this particular R32 GT-R on our pages. Like many of the vehicles we share here, this R32 is still a work in progress. In fact, plenty of things are in store for this clean white Skyline – and it’s all a matter of getting parts where they need to be before we can truly call this car completed.

Words by Aurick Go

Photos by Jaime Echavez, Franz Gaw, Jose Altoveros

1992 Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32

Engine

• RB26DETT
• MAC boost solenoid
• Tial BOV
• Greddy hard pipes
• Apex’i air filter
• Injector Dynamics 1000cc
• Adaptronic standalone ECU

Interior

• Bride Stradia II x Cusco racing seat
• Nismo white-face gauge cluster
• HKS triple gauge

Exterior / Footwork

• BNR34 forged wheels
• GT Radial SX2 265/35/18
• Ksport big brake kit (8 pot/ 4pot)
• Ksport kontrol pro coilovers
• Ultra Racing braces
• Left hand drive BNR32 side mirrors