Old Top Gear 1996 - Nissan Skyline R33 GTR

Jeremy Clarkson takes a look at the Nissan Skyline R33 GTR before they were officially imported into the U.K.
Taken from a mid 1996 edition of Top Gear.

[@ayrtonm7907]

I love how the old bland plastic interior in this car now costs more than a new born baby.

[@davencherry845]

Why I bought 1 before pandemic

[@HHH-tz4gc]

Plandemic

[@jamesfirth6891]

@@davencherry845same

[@CraigMocello-nn3rj]

How much are you paying for babies?

[@mattf20c27]

​@@CraigMocello-nn3rjit's not the up front cost, but the ongoing costs that get you...

[@bghoody5665]

Considering how much Clarkson adored the 355, for the GT-R to compare so favourably is pretty high praise.

[@farishanafiah8461]

Clarkson has always been impressed with the GT-R's engineering. It's the styling that he really don't like.

[@jingorooroad2559]

@@farishanafiah8461 He even demolished is neck when presenting the R35 directly in Japan.

[@G59METH]

@@jingorooroad2559 the R35 is pretty ugly if you ask me

[@jingorooroad2559]

@@G59METH Nobody was asking you btw.

[@G59METH]

@@jingorooroad2559 I was

[@gazman9468]

Clarkson was ahead of his time thinking Nissan should have brought the GT-R over. Considering the huge success the R35 was when they finally brought it over you can't help wondering how many other cars that boring accountant types like Mr Ward here prevented Nissan or other JDM manufacturers from bringing over.

[@toddthezondalover645]

It was more about the MILLIONS Japanese manufacturers would have spent make them within safety and emissions regulation. After it was all said and done, the Acura version of the NSX was less powerful, heavier, and about 15-25% more expensive.

[@bluemutt9964]

​@toddthezondalover645 Yeah and they lost money with every unit sold because of it as well, hard to justify that to your boss

[@davidmurren4644]

They did! Nissan (or one of the large dealerships) did import some late R33's and converted them to UK spec and then they brought over the R34's and did the same. There are (or were) a few rare UK spec ones knocking about with MPH speedo, 155mph limiter etc

[@gazman9468]

@@davidmurren4644 You're right of course, there was often a grey import scheme for enthusiast models. I just think Nissan/Honda /Subaru etc all missed an opportunity to really push their sports cars and have them considered in the same sphere as their German rivals. A few interior materials aside there's no reason a new GT-R shouldn't command the same price as a Turbo 911 but the brand image still isn't quite there. The R35 really boosted Nissan's rep in the eyes of the average consumer though so an R36 could well be priced a little closer to its rivals this time around

[@gazman9468]

@@toddthezondalover645 All true but they're still talked about today and have become modern classics. If only Honda had thrown away the shackles of the 276bhp "gentleman's agreement" sooner and really opened that V6 up. The S2000 proved they could easily have made 380hp+ from a more highly tuned 3.2 V6 which would have kept it competitive with 911s of the era. Shame also they threw away the V10 replacement after spending no doubt millions and millions on its development

[@SuperZedd]

I’m still fond of this Top Gear era before the major revamp.

[@barryb1490]

100% it was so much more on point!

[@Zorbino88]

I never got to see the "old" Top Gear, I wish it were available somewhere.

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

I did like the chemistry of the old trio(Clarkson, Quentin and Tiff), then followed by Vicki and Steve Berry doing the bike stuff, plus the rally section and Michelle doing the consumer stuff. It seemed like a rich mixture - as much I appreciate the laddishness of the new style Top Gear and Grand Tour and the stunts on that.

[@jingorooroad2559]

Imagine what Clarkson would have said, if he had the opportunity to test drive one of the R33 400R or the R34 Nismo Z-Tune.

[@toddthezondalover645]

He got to drive the JUN car and hated it.

[@OLI-vx1md]

​@@toddthezondalover645 when did he say that? I literally 2 minutes ago rewatched the clip of him with the Jun R33 and he said "it is astonishing" .. the only bad thing he said is "that locking rear diff doesn't really seem to be doing its job"

[@AdultsAreTalking]

@@toddthezondalover645L comment

[@imtheguvnor]

@@toddthezondalover645 When did he say that??

[@richarddangles8896]

The fact he drove a convertible and his hair didn't move is amazing.

[@bluemutt9964]

Now *that's* a perm!

[@joeezra5460]

I’ve owned 2 of these first had 380hp the 2nd 600….not one squeak or rattle and reliability 10/10! An e46 m3 after 60,000 is a complete rattle box

[@THE-xp3hp]

Made in Japan. I have walkmans from the same ERA they all work

[@joeezra5460]

@@THE-xp3hphaha…from 91-94 I was still in high school I bought about 4-5 Aiwa Walkman’s..I basically worked part time just to buy Jordan’s,walkmans,football membership…had I bought Microsoft stocks I’d now have over $10,000,000😂

[@THE-xp3hp]

@@joeezra5460 Wow good for you. Thats alot of money

[@joeezra5460]

@@THE-xp3hpyou didn’t get it…if doesn’t mean did

[@THE-xp3hp]

@@joeezra5460 i just got it

[@nathanmetus2989]

Goosebumps watching old top gear, and the music kicking in at the end… nothing beat watching top gear as a kid back home in England. Clarkson is a legend, despite the Tina Turner look he was rocking back then.

[@lucaslacasse935]

Do you know the name of the song that they’re playing the background is

[@nathanmetus2989]

@@lucaslacasse935 I wish I did brother. I’ll try to figure it out. If you get there before me please let me know!

[@nathanmetus2989]

Only love here. Let us know if your figure out the track 🎧

[@tommymfmiller4847]

Lenny kravitz-are you gonna come my way …your welcome

[@dutchy213]

Nobody interview a car like clarkson. Nobody. 💯💯💯

[@xoiDROCKiox]

Proud owner of BCNR33-023561 right here

[@TheCommentator353]

Omg! That's awesome. Never sell it

[@cherryred6804]

Midnight purple series 2 July 1996?

[@xoiDROCKiox]

@@TheCommentator353 of course man it’s very underrated. You’d swear you’re in a ‘32 or ‘34 with the amount of attention it gets. Truly heartwarming

[@xoiDROCKiox]

@@cherryred6804 yes sir you looked at the GT-R Registry didn’t you? Kudos to you❤️

[@alternativeperception6949]

I had a R33 everyone thinks they are huge until you park them next to a small car , try it park next to a new Mini or equivalent

[@juliobrian4757]

Those who have played GT3 would recognize the BGM...

[@sharpfalcon6196]

Yes, it's Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way" before Daiki Kasho remixed it.

[@Donir100]

Even Clarkson liked it, ppl that hate it have no taste.

[@rosstee]

People that hate it simply aren't fans of driving, just badge snobs and other poseurs.

[@Kei.W]

@@rossteebadge snobs is a good term indeed. Most people who have that much time to fight online about cars they dislike are usually brand slaves who cant even afford those cars they adore so much in the first place.

[@Orcawhale1]

​@@rosstee The GT-R's have never offered a great driving experience, sorry to say so. The whole reason for it's mythical status is mostly down to the engine and how easy it is to tune. Which were good qualities in the 1990s and early 2000s, but became irrelevant when all car makers switched to turbo engined cars.

[@-BuddyGuy]

​@@Orcawhale1They don't all do 800 on stock internals though, the reason this and the 2JZ are so good is the block is built like a brick shithouse and you don't need to build the whole engine to get reliable power above 500

[@Orcawhale1]

@@-BuddyGuy Yeah, some of the earlier blocks crack at 500 or even earlier. Was fixed in later versions of the engine, but i can't recall the exact one. The 2JZ can however do it all day, cause it's a better designed engine. Sadly however the Supra isn't a especially fun car to drive, due to it being more of a GT than a sports car.

[@muhsinatras9755]

people always said ive got bad taste when i say i prefer the r33 gtr than the r32 and the r34. r33 nowadays is so underrated especially compared to its successors and predecessors

[@leviathan5207]

It's all the same shitbox with the same engine. What are you even talking about.

[@rosstee]

@@leviathan5207 I'm sorry you appear to have got lost on KZbin. If you use the search at the top of the page and type "attention" you may find what you're looking for.

[@ceirwan]

The R33 is more affordable (relatively speaking). But I just love the R34.

[@TeeShongwe]

@@leviathan5207 Shitboxes don't beat nurburgring records and compete at le mans. Show some respect.

[@cesarg4328]

Yeah. I think it´s the best looking of the three.

[@MerlinOpeth]

For such a big car, the r33 really does handle well.

[@Hanschepu]

lol who told you its a big car? Ive seen and been really upclose, and also have driven a couple R34s and those cars are compact... an R33 is similarly sized to an early 00s Impreza, its somewhat similar to a 4 door civic EK, but a bit longer and thats it. Now the R35 IS a big car, yet still handles really well.

[@Only_Brd]

​​@@Hanschepu He meant compared to other generations

[@Hanschepu]

@@Only_Brd its just a bit longer, its not a big car, even in comparison to its immediate predecessor and successor 😅😅😅

[@Only_Brd]

@@Hanschepu my bad, that what I thought they ment😅

[@roflcopter645]

@@Hanschepu the R33 is definitely a big car. I learnt that the first time I tried parking one.

[@3d9e]

That song... Gran Turismo 3 throwback

[@drunvert]

I love how they keep interviewing a wealthy dude from 1986.

[@ExUSSailor]

It wasn't "law" that limited Japanese sports cars' power, it was a gentleman's agreement between the Japanese automakers. It was never anything official.

[@stefan_4508]

the law kinda influenced it though because back then Japanese government thought power equaled road deaths (even limiting cars to 180kmh top speed) so to keep their reputations good but also ensure that the competition would not pass them, car companies came up with that agreement

[@Angry_Squirrel555]

And then Toyota said F-you and built the Supra with 320hp.

[@rayyagamer2011]

Wdym fuck you,the supra was failing to sell and the gtr wss thriving becuz one of the Skyline GTRs,the r32,nissan was supposed to make 10000 examples,but ended up making 40000 examples probably not including the special editions likd the nismo r32,still as jeremy calls an advanced car for its time,the moving playstation

[@Sum_Ting_Wong]

Amazing. Been looking for this review for YEARS!

[@farishanafiah8461]

At last, I've been looking for the R33 review when I see the 'Car of the Year 1997' video.

[@midas7394]

We loved this presentation. Thanks for sharing.

[@dennisbailey6067]

Wish I had paid more attention back in the day.GTR.🎉🎉🎉

[@kc550]

The side profile of clarkson's giant head and afro sticking out of the ferrari @0:28 is hilarious

[@markyarnold381]

Love my 33 vspec 🇦🇺

[@TheBeatlesShow]

I wish I could get one

[@darksaber7678]

Don’t sell it

[@sirretsnom3329]

The Skylines still hold their value as I seen one recently go for $70k. The even better news is that the import laws for the US are going to expire in January 2024 and you can import them as an antique. Keep in mind that there are garages full of these just sitting ready for the taking.

[@maxamaxa194]

Lol no, Japanese car enthusiasts know this and they're forbidding foreigners from buying them. Used car lots that specialize in skylines and sports cars don't want to let them leave the country

[@aking610]

Amazing upload 👌

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Welcome back after 2 years!

[@John-A]

Great review!

[@chriscaarnold]

Love them both. Will never have either 😢

[@SA-zoom1]

Clarkson looks daft in that 355, his mop is higher than the roofline.

[@danhutchins3237]

Haha looks like Bowser in Mario Kart (his size compared to the car...not his actual looks!!)

[@SupraSav]

Wish I was older to appreciate this car and Japan in the golden era of the 90s.

[@ashleywintle572]

Thing of beauty shame the 2nd hand market is up the wall now

[@adamjones6252]

Skyline was legendary. Even in Gran Turismo it was clearly one of the absolute best cars.

[@TheEyez187]

Was. No my friend, IS, is Legendary. Loved it in GT and GT 2, spent -hours- days fine tuning the gears, getting a 426 or 443KpH top speed

[@S-vx4rw]

Seriously if these car brands back then didn't have the restriction of the so called Gentleman's agreement and they still went about making the GTR's and Supras

[@unitedbolts8053]

Who would imagine... today Nissan produces Mr. Nobody cars

[@mirohalford1201]

I thought this was a Bob Ross episode from the thumb nail

[@TheBadBunny87]

Lol

[@precertvideo]

Happy little accidents

[@richardhammer187]

Management meeting for this piece - "I've got an idea, let's shoot the film on a dirt track, not only will that ruin the paint, and put it on a loose surface it's not designed for, but it'll also kick up loads of dust, so the viewers won't actually be able to see the car", "brilliant, go do it!" 🤔

[@rayyagamer2011]

I mean the suspension is kinda high and its awd,so its kinda fine

[@user-kz9ng3te2j]

That nissan was great back then an eeven better now. ❤❤l

[@kavinskysmith4094]

two things that havent aged well on the F355, the steerings over assisted and the magnesium valves need to be redone and changed for something more stable, and have the recall with the fuel line done, which was a result of people cheapening out on the proper way to do engine outs and apparently people say its slow, the R33, just get it reupholstered in good new leather and foam and your fine

[@sponsors_not_included]

Nissan please just remake this car to the tee

[@ENGBriseB]

It was a great car and Jeremy Clarkson again was correct with the Nissan Skyline.

[@DankSi]

I remember checking the nissan japan website and looking at the r33 in 1997, good times

[@SilentMovements305]

The first time I used the internet my top 3 searches were the GT90 R34 n the F1 definitely good times

[@Rondo2ooo]

The Skyline is also the reliable car here.

[@MrCalverino]

MY FAV CAR!!!

[@gfunkrsa]

"especially since it's 2.6 litre engine is nothing to write home about" - if only he knew...

[@placeholdername3206]

RB's are well known to blow up. They have a number of weaknesses and aren't very beefy. Go through the pits at any drift event and you will barely see any Nissans running a Nissan motor. Most run JZ's and LS stuff.

[@TurboV8boi]

He wasn't wrong. It's a pretty "normal" 80's/90's tech engine. Like the 2j (2j being a little better since it's stronger) but that doesn't mean old tech is bad.

[@kantina4765]

It isn’t. These cars are famously disappointing stock, quiet and not all too fast. In the straights at least. There’s a reason they’re most famous as ‘tuner’ and race cars.

[@DavidBainGaming]

@@placeholdername3206 Man what, here in New Zealand, where the vast majority of RB powered cars in the world have ended up, still all have the RB, street, track, drift, drag etc. Never had any issues with my RB25 Cefiro, none of my mates have ever had any problems with their ones either. An RB20DET will take limiter bashing longer than a JZ, sound better too.

[@placeholdername3206]

@@DavidBainGaming Either you're talking shit and completely clueless or trolling

[@FelipeFritschF2]

It's pretty funny how he made the idea of a Ferrari getting overtaken by a Japanese competitor seem ludicrous in as late as 1996.

[@Youaintseenmeright.......]

The thumbnail has huge Bob Ross vibes 😂

[@chrissalimi8708]

That GranTourismo music 🎵

[@LuqmanHM]

Clarkson roasting Nissan was pure GOLD 😂😂

[@robinyourhood189]

My Dream Car..

[@tanaka90]

Same, I cant wait for the day I buy a F355 Berlinetta in rosso maranello

[@rosstee]

@@tanaka90 I'm sure you'll look great in it.

[@tanaka90]

@rosstee Thank you, may you get ahold of your favourite car also

[@mht525]

Luv my R33 GTR Godzilla. JDM ✌️ 🤘 🇦🇺

[@m00nkinftw]

I had an r33 with a big single turbo. 515hp at the wheels, the thing was nuts. Rust was always a battle though

[@jameslast3192]

Oh I miss the 90’s

[@xgford94]

5:00 Nissan Australia said Yeah why not 🎉

[@JerGol]

3:10 - Ah! The original 'dab of oppo'!

[@TedTofield]

Thought the same thing! I bought the t-shirt when it was out… wonder where it is now?

[@Supadan75]

THIS and the Nissan GTR are my favourite ’Street Cars’ in its day destroyed a lot of high end super cars on performance

[@stickerz677]

"You can...in a Nissan"

[@Nyaonyx]

It's hard to see them grow old

[@chrispitre409]

I thought it was Bob Ross doing a painting in the thumbnail 1😂😂

[@mrskeltal3281]

look how tiny that 355 looks compared to modern day ridiculously enormous cars :D

[@bigbag4354]

Wow just wow

[@volkte37]

It took Gran Turismo to do for Nissan what they should have done.

[@senseofthecommonman]

Back at that time I went for a business meal, and the subject of dream cars came up. I said a Nissan Skyline. They looked at me and said your dream car is a Nissan…..they obviously had no idea what it actually was, but obviously thought I was an A hole😂😂 And I actually nearly got one as well but went down the Evo route instead.

[@YegoYTP]

Any chance you've got clarksons review on the renault megane coupe from 1995-1996

[@ArmySigs]

V Spec cars are now worth about the same as a mint 355 too!

[@SSHHABBA]

Back when top gear was selling cars for manufacturers

[@gunsandcars3648]

Godzilla , the king of JDMs

[@thedarkknight1971]

AS MAGNIFICENT as the R33 and R34, and even the R35 is.... My choice would be the R32, I just LOVE that shape, especially in the graphite-ish grey looking colour... Each to their own I guess... But yeah... The Skylines... They're damn fine cars! 😎🇬🇧

[@gmain1977]

And me

[@bagatuuri8070]

Personal im more in to r32s, had one and theyr are superb!

[@antonyhart6757]

now that car would be worth a quarter mil

[@Prodriver33]

R33 is best GTR. Best looking by miles.

[@emantabrizi8218]

Nissan missed out on so much revenue by not importing the R32, 33, and 34 to the United States.

[@ThatguyPanda86]

Here they are now going for six figures easily in the US with a US title.

[@dingusbingus7463]

The bit on it costing a mil not being worth it, jeremy is yotally right. In 2024 we can see how much most if not all big names drop on advertisement budgets. Imagine how much they could move to development if they stopped doing adverts vying for people attention and just surprise people with something new

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

Lmfao that 320 km hr no consumer car here in the west built by the big 3 even in 2024 can go 200 km hr without breaking apart lol😂

[@dmtr75]

I dunno...Japanese can't match Europeans in engineering? That thing, and a lot of cars from and since that era, have a great engine, top-notch suspension and a balanced chassis. The modern GT-R's (R32 and later) had world's first really intelligent four-wheel-drive, sensing the driving situation of the car (understeer? oversteer?) and sending torque around the drivetrain to make it handle well and maximise the tire's grip. In my book, that's world class engineering. P.S. The 280 hp limit wasn't mandated by the Japanese government, it was an agreement between Japanese carmakers, like the 250 km/h limit from other carmakers.

[@nastystew6942]

That is a midnight purple 1 car

[@Alex-md6bu]

“The 2.6l engine is nothing to write home about” 😅😅😅😅

[@MAGA_Randy_Marsh]

They even used the Gran Turismo soundtrack!!!!

[@marvinsteimle-rominger6977]

a Million!!!!! thats what it took for Nissan not to bring the GTR to Europe?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?

[@bertyboy78]

Does anyone else remember watching this episode on TV?

[@gmain1977]

Yes

[@7071t6]

so funny in australia where the term muscle car came from, they have them doing 6 second down the 1/4 mile beat that England even the ford twin turbo sierra could not beat the godzilla at Bathurst road way race track in the 1990's.

[@vectorphresh]

I wonder if Gran Turismo 3 was paying homage to this clip by playing “Are You Gonna Go My Way” as the opening song.

[@freshtapcoke]

Oh shit I thought that was Bob Ross

[@Vstar299]

Jeremy clarkson looks like bob ross back in the 90s

[@tomhindle34]

Why does the thumbnail look like Bob Ross 😂😂

[@Sooooooooooostupid]

That's Bob Ross's brother Ross Bob

[@chriscarberry9721]

I can't be the only one, who after looking at the thumbnail, thought this was a Bob Ross video right???

[@c4r5on88]

One of my favourite cars uve ever owned and one of my biggest mistakes at the time of owning it I had a 850 T5r manual and a fiat coupe 20v turbo so 3 amazing cars. Unfortunately the skyline was my vehicle of choice when i was off my face on ketamine and god knows what else. Obviously resulting in me writing it off. It wasn't that bad and was easily fixed but I just parked it on the drive of my ex partners mums. Eventually selling it for £150 yep. One hundred and fifty frigging pounds.

[@sailor81]

hope you had a good night with the 150 quid at least

[@c4r5on88]

@sailor81 probably not lol however the way I look at it someone else will have been over the moon 😅 I did see it come up for sale around 3 years ago and it had been repaired but rear end still had the marks and broken back light and it had beeb stood in a garage for years. It was fairly cheap so I got the funds together but someone beat me to it. Around a week after that it was back up for sale for much more and the new owner looked to have only washed it.

[@0Heeroyuy01]

did Clarkson say the GTr was the first to break the 8min time on the nürburgring? i though the C5 corvette was the first car the break the 8 min mark

[@fivezerofivezero8357]

This car has been exported

[@gnrsgl]

Right about this time i made my first child

[@KingLich451]

1:56 gran turismo 3 intro music

[@njs461]

Really couldn’t import to uk? Steering wheel is already on the right! Also uk is where you can by a TVR which is way less compliant safety regulation wise

[@mr2cqql]

Yes you could import back in the days, It wasnt officically from nissan uk until sometime later.

[@Angry_Squirrel555]

Funny how much more that Nissan is worth now over that Ferrari 355.

[@OgglyGoogly]

Here Ferrari 355 is $250k skyline is $80k

[@markb8467]

Pretty sure that’s clarksons Ferrari 355 not a rental or borrowed one I wonder if he still has it

[@MrMcKane]

No, he sold it around 2002 for that blue SL55 AMG.

[@fl00d69]

My dream car.

[@buggyman286]

A pristine condition R33 in my country will set you back $60k+

[@dt-wq7ql]

Please avoid the word "old" . Try Top gear 1996 . It makes me feel less old 😢

[@rovervitesse1985]

Might drive great, might be very fast, might grip like nothing else, but for me a car also has to look good. And that goes for the EXterior AND INterior for me. I’ll have the 355 please

[@Tight--LiNeZ]

Do you think he wore a durag to bad back then? Cos that's one funk perm.

[@LEE...337]

Prefer the GTS 25T, less of the gizmos and rear wheel drive.