What seemed to be an ordinary BCNR33 GT-R to onlookers was in actual fact an aerodynamic test bed for Nissan’s most revered mass production car to date. This satin black BCNR33 GT-R was one of several cars used as a test bed for development of the 1999 BNR34 GT-R, and this one in particular was used for aerodynamic testing and body reinforcement which was one of the first put into service around 1996.
The basic car is an R33 GT-R V-Spec and is equipped with front and rear dry carbon diffusers as well as vertical plates added to raise the rear wing up to the height and angle which was chosen for the R34 GT-R. It’s no coincidence that ATTKD Autech Tsukada used these very same rear wing uprights as a design basis for their R33 GT-R ‘Rear Wing Up Kit’, such was the effectiveness of placing the rear wing up higher in the air stream.
Nissan didn’t spend much time making the carbon parts easy on the eyes, and it would be fair to say that the construction is somewhat ‘crude’ and definitely one of the very first types of diffuser that underwent testing. Despite the hurried construction there are probably more than a few GT-R enthusiasts who would like to get their hands on these parts! The welding used on the rear fenders and C-pillars was required for additional body reinforcement.
Apparently this test car had foam urethane packing inside the C-pillars to increase rigidity without much weight gain; this feature eventually made it into production with the R34 GT-R. As for the welding on the rear fenders, not much is known other than additional strengthening being used to decrease flex. This car was used extensively at Nissan’s Proving Grounds in Hokkaido around 1996-97 and created quite a stir among GT-R enthusiasts at the time with its satin black paint applied to every inch of the car, right down to the production R34 GT-R alloy wheels and brake calipers.
The test car was known amongst the development team at the time as ‘Stealth’, a special emblem acknowledging this was made for the rear wing on the right hand side end plate while on the left side it had the basic GT-R logo. This was different to what the test drivers named it, ‘Crow’ being their preferred nickname obviously referring to the black paint work. Once enough data was collected from high speed runs and other tests, ‘Stealth’ was retired and it now resides at the Prince and Skyline Museum in Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture.
The basic car is an R33 GT-R V-Spec and is equipped with front and rear dry carbon diffusers as well as vertical plates added to raise the rear wing up to the height and angle which was chosen for the R34 GT-R. It’s no coincidence that ATTKD Autech Tsukada used these very same rear wing uprights as a design basis for their R33 GT-R ‘Rear Wing Up Kit’, such was the effectiveness of placing the rear wing up higher in the air stream.
Nissan didn’t spend much time making the carbon parts easy on the eyes, and it would be fair to say that the construction is somewhat ‘crude’ and definitely one of the very first types of diffuser that underwent testing. Despite the hurried construction there are probably more than a few GT-R enthusiasts who would like to get their hands on these parts! The welding used on the rear fenders and C-pillars was required for additional body reinforcement.
Apparently this test car had foam urethane packing inside the C-pillars to increase rigidity without much weight gain; this feature eventually made it into production with the R34 GT-R. As for the welding on the rear fenders, not much is known other than additional strengthening being used to decrease flex. This car was used extensively at Nissan’s Proving Grounds in Hokkaido around 1996-97 and created quite a stir among GT-R enthusiasts at the time with its satin black paint applied to every inch of the car, right down to the production R34 GT-R alloy wheels and brake calipers.
The test car was known amongst the development team at the time as ‘Stealth’, a special emblem acknowledging this was made for the rear wing on the right hand side end plate while on the left side it had the basic GT-R logo. This was different to what the test drivers named it, ‘Crow’ being their preferred nickname obviously referring to the black paint work. Once enough data was collected from high speed runs and other tests, ‘Stealth’ was retired and it now resides at the Prince and Skyline Museum in Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture.
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