Too Fast For The Rules

The R32 GT-Rwas the beast that ate bathurst, yet it was far more an australian car than it’s often given credit for. We speak to those who built it – and tamed it

- Mark Fogarty

If you reckon those Shell V-Power Mustangs are dominant, think again. Nearly 30 years ago, the Group A racing version of the R32 Nissan GT-R was as close to unbeatable as it gets.

It was so good, so technically advanced, it killed the category. Worldwide, homologation icons like the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 and BMW M3 Evo just couldn’t compete against the Japanese all-wheel-drive wonder.

In Australia, the devastation – and stultification – was so complete, the R32 racer begat the return of all-Australian V8 Holden versus Ford rivalry on track. You can thank the R32 for what became Supercars.

In two years, the car dubbed ‘Godzilla’ – an Aussie sobriquet that went viral globally before the internet era – changed the face of touring car racing forever. No more homologation specials, no more allsinging, all-dancing production-based racers.

Rarely has such a great race car been so vilified. Local fans hated the GT-R and rivals resented it. That enmity resulted in Jim Richards’ immortal line “You’re a bunch of arseholes” to the baying audience as he celebrated his and Mark Skaife’s flood-shortened victory at Bathurst in 1992.

V8 legends Richards and Skaife, guided by acclaimed Nissan team boss Fred Gibson, established the GT-R in Australian motor racing folklore – and infamy – by overwhelming the opposition in ’91/92. Ford folk hero Dick Johnson and his Sierras, the factory backed BMWs and Holden’s game Group A Commodore were eaten alive by Godzilla. But, contrary to popular opinion, the GT-R was a monster to drive.

Alongside the racing program, Nissan Australia – in the final throes of its 25-odd years as a local manufacturer – ADRed the R32 GT-R for limited sale here. At $110,000 – an extraordinary amount back then – the 100 cars proved very slow to move.