Some cars leave an indelible impression on all of us: cars that transcend the boundaries of fandom and become icons in their own right. And yes, that’s what I mean all from us.
If you don’t even have a soft spot for an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, I respectfully call bulls**t. It’s impossible to be a car enthusiast in the 2000s without having fond memories of it Need for Speed: Underground, 2 Fast 2 Furious, or a grainy YouTube clip of gold Top Secret or white mine GT-Rs defying physics – in 240p.
Mickey Andrade and the Accelerator The team mixed that 2000s nostalgia with 2024 tuning style and technology to create a monster of a Skyline, with the build debuting on the Meguiar’s booth at the 2024 SEMA show.
Full disclosure: this is not a BNR34 GT-R, and Accelerator doesn’t claim it to be so. Instead, they’re proud of the work that went into upgrading the bodywork and entire drivetrain of what rolled off Nissan’s production line in 1999 as a rear-wheel drive ER34 GT-T. The chunky Pro Street Radial tires on custom Motegi Racing wheels at all four corners make it clear: this Skyline’s updated all-wheel drive setup means business.
The transmission tunnel has been re-fabricated to accommodate a transfer case, and the front chassis legs have been modified to fit driveshafts, sending power to the front wheels via a 2-speed Powerglide transmission. The rear is driven by a Platinum Racing Products (PRP) 8.8-inch billet differential with upgraded driveshafts.
The hood-exit exhaust, bead-lock wheels and a rear parachute all point to the Skyline’s intentions: drag racing.
Under the hood you will find an RB25 block, bored to 2.6 liters, equipped with an RB26 05U cylinder head. A Garrett G45-1600 turbocharger in its current condition delivers approximately 32 psi (2.2 bar) of boost to deliver 1,219 hp, with a CSF race radiator that guarantees reliable cooling. The MoTeC engine management system keeps everything under control, controlling a drive-by-wire throttle system and sending vital data to the MoTeC digital dashboard display. Oh, and yes, there is NOS. The big bottles. It couldn’t be one Fast and furious tribute without, could that be possible?
Thanks to a Zestek steering wheel controller and Rywire CAN module, the driver has almost complete control over the car’s systems: two-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, adjustable power levels and a range of driving aids are all easily selectable.
But the fun doesn’t stop here: the final engine for this car will be an RB-based design from PRP, with all the factory defects of the RB series removed. This car will receive the very first production engine of the series and comes all the way from Australia to the United States.
The new engine will be tuned to 1,400 horsepower, so it’s a good thing the Skyline comes equipped with a full roll cage with inserts and a carbon fiber bucket seat with Sparco harness straps – safety is not an afterthought.
Normally I’m not a fan of movie replica cars; they often try too hard and fall short. But a tribute – something that takes inspiration and goes far beyond the capabilities of the star car? That’s something I can get behind.
Throtl’s R34 build (watch the full video playlist here) is a fun way to honor our collective roots in modified car culture without being a lazy replica. It shows the best of what the tuning world has to offer in 2024.
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn, mariochristou.world
mariochristou.world
Photography by Darrien Craven
Instagram: _crvn_
