The mods weren’t limited to power-making goodies, though. Gorgeous 18x10 Magnesium Blue Volk RE-30s wrapped in sticky 275-35-18 Nitto NT-05 meats filled the wheelwells perfectly. The owner also addressed handling in an attempt to make the car turn as sharply as it looks and lowered the car with a set of Impul coilovers fitted with Öhlin dampers. The blue R34 was low, wide and downright menacing—exactly the way a R34 should look. It’s like Mike Tyson in a blue silk Armani suit—part pit bull, part showstopper and all performance. Pictures have never done these cars justice, and with all due respect to my photographer, with this car it was particularly true. To be honest, the car was so clean it was hard—very hard—to believe that it was close to a 10-year-old daily driver.
I settled into the perfectly supportive driver seat and realized that it was only the second right-hand-drive car I’ve driven. It also dawned on me that hurting this car because of a missed shift could have dire consequences for the car and for me! It was not a problem, though, because the gearbox feel was nothing short of stellar. Wonderfully precise, the operation of clutch and shifter was so easy that it actually became a very intuitive feel, and even heel and toe downshifts came with ease. The gear ratios, which were stock, were perfectly spaced and seemed to work well with the power delivery from the twin-boosted motor.
I don’t have any experience with a stock R34, so all I can tell you is that the power I felt in this UMS-tuned example was very impressive. A little lethargic down below 3500 rpm perhaps, but only because above 4000 the car became brutal in its accelerative force. I shifted consistently a solid 500 rpm below redline, mindful of potentially hurting the pristine Nissan (there was no way I was going to do damage and have to live with this car’s motor oil on my hands). The strong pull from the motor was linear, except for an intermittent boost flutter in long, high g-force, left-hand corners at 5000 to 5500 rpm.
While muted at idle, the exhaust note built steadily as throttle load increased and engine revs climbed. The higher the revs, the more ferocious the RB26 powerplant sounded until it became a snarling, spitting wild animal straight out of a JDM fairy tale. I can’t tell you what animal it might have been; all I can tell you is that the car was very much alive, and the harder I pushed the more visceral it became. I didn’t intend to drive the car all that intensely, but the experience behind the wheel in this oh-so-correct vehicle was downright intoxicating.
The Brembos, as one would expect, did their job in efficient style, shedding off the considerable energy built up in short and controlled order. Initial bite was good and felt very much like a good street pad with a sticky street tire. There was no sign of fade and the chassis responded to brake application with minimal dive.