Drag races can get boring, but trust the Hoonigan crew to add a little spice to everything they do. For the last few episodes, the automotive outfit has been camping at the world-famous Cootamundra Airport in New South Wales, Australia.
If you've been following our stories, you probably read about the 2023 Turbosmart Ultimate Street Car competitions at the Cootamundra Airport. Some of the meanest street cars on the continent converged at the event, and Hoonigan, among other global automotive outfits, took that chance to showcase some of Australia's top talents on asphalt.
"We took this versus that halfway around the world to Australia. We're here at Cootamundra Airport with some of the craziest cars that Australia could bring us," Vin of Hoonigan said, introducing the contenders.
On the most recent episode of their This vs. That series, the Hoonigan crew put together a rather unusual duel, namely MotiveVideo's 1993 Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R against a 1975 Holden LH Torana.
Here's the thing. While this race looks like a regular analog (Holden LH Torana) versus digital (R32 GT-R) type of battle on the surface, it's actually a fight between two of Australia's top names in street racing.
The GT-R belongs to Andrew of MotiveVideo, popularly known as the GT-R go-to guy in Australia. The 1975 Holden LH Torana, which also happens to hold the most notorious wheelies in Australia, belongs to Johnny Habib.
Andrew's 1993 Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R packs a turbocharged 3.2-liter inline-six engine good for 1,100 hp (1,115 ps). The powerhouse engine is mated to a six-speed sequential transmission sending all that juice to all four wheels. It weighs 3,500 lbs (1,588 kgs).
According to Andrew, this 1993 R32 GT-R is a 10-year-old project. Some of the mods include an RB30 block, Garret G45 1500 turbo, and a vented carbon hood.
Johnny Habib's big dinosaur 1975 Holden LH Torana packs a naturally aspirated 9.6-liter V8 good for 1,000 hp (1,014 ps). It runs on a 2-speed automatic transmission sending everything to the rear wheels. It has a conventional 588 big-block Chevy engine with a 400 shot of nitrous.
Only one thing matters in Hoonigan's This versus That series – that's the first car over the finish line. Well, the first race was a 1,000 ft head-to-head drag race and straight off the line, the R32 Skyline GT-R exerted its dominance over the relic 48-year-old Holden Torana. The GT-R won the race by two car lengths.
Ideally, the second race would have been a 1,000-ft drag race (the loser gets a hit), but Johnny Habib, who's been racing cars for 30 years, didn't want any sympathy wins. As a result, the duo had a rematch.
As expected, the wheelie-flipping 1975 Holden LH Torana didn't put up much of a fight against the mighty Godzilla. It was a brutal defeat.
"It's hard for a rear-wheel-drive car to hang with an all-wheel-drive car on a no-prep surface," Vin said after the final race.
Do you think the 48-year-old Torana had a chance against the GT-R? Share your opinion in the comments section below.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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