R34 Skyline GT-R V-Meets the 2020 Nissan GT-R 50th Anniversary, Both Are Awesome

The two models couldn’t be more different, and age isn’t of the essence. Manual versus dual-clutch transmission, RB26DETT inline-six versus VR38DETT vee-six, approximately 200 kilograms between them, and the list goes on. The biggest difference, as you can find out from the latest upload from The Straight Pipes, is what the driver feels.

Two decades separate the two Bayside Blue brothers from Japan, and this is most obvious when seated behind the wheel. The R35 isn’t necessarily a Playstation 4 versus the Playstation 2 in terms of user experience and gameplay, but there’s no denying the newcomer is comfier, easier to drive, quicker off the line, and more capable in the twisties.

The V-Spec, however, more than makes up with the sheer sense of occasion and its more mechanical nature. Taking into consideration the Gran Turismo series of racing games, it’s all the more obvious that Godzilla can strike a chord the R35 doesn’t come close to.

In addition to nostalgia, the R34 in the video also happens to feature a few goodies for the suck-squeeze-bang-blow department. Impressive even by today’s standards, the older model puts down 504 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. For the 50th Anniversary of the GT-R, the R35 develops 565 horsepower and 467 pound-feet at the crankshaft.

The thing that’s most impressive about the comparo is how obvious the lineage is, how the heritage has been passed on to the latest generation despite the loss of the Skyline nameplate. Speaking of which, the Skyline on sale today in Japan is a carbon copy of the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan.

And on an ending note, can you believe the R35 will celebrate 12 years of production in December 2019? Now that’s longevity, alright, and it’s surprising how much Nissan is willing to milk out of the PM platform and VR38DETT until the R36 arrives on the same platform.