Full Throtl: A Fast & Furious-Inspired R34 Drag Machine

Some cars leave an indelible mark on all of us – cars that transcend the boundaries of fandom and become icons in their own right. And yes, I mean all of us.

If you don’t have even the smallest soft spot for an R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, I’m calling bulls**t, respectfully. There’s no way you were a car enthusiast in the 2000s without fond memories of Need for Speed: Underground, 2 Fast 2 Furious, or some grainy YouTube clip of gold Top Secret or white Mine’s GT-Rs defying physics – in 240p.

Mickey Andrade and the Throtl team have taken that 2000s nostalgia and mixed it up with 2024 tuning style and technology to create a monster of a Skyline, debuting the build on the Meguiar’s booth at the 2024 SEMA Show.

Throtl R34-4

Full disclosure: this isn’t a BNR34 GT-R, and Throtl doesn’t claim it is. Instead, they’re proud of the work put into upgrading the bodywork and entire powertrain of what rolled off Nissan’s production line as a rear-wheel-drive ER34 GT-T in 1999. The beefy Pro Street Radial tyres on custom Motegi Racing wheels at all four corners make it clear – this Skyline’s retrofitted all-wheel-drive setup means business.

Throtl R34-14

The transmission tunnel has been re-fabricated to accommodate a transfer case, and the front chassis legs have been modified to fit driveshafts, ensuring power reaches the front wheels via a drag-spec Powerglide 2-speed transmission. The rear is driven by a Platinum Racing Products (PRP) 8.8-inch billet differential with upgraded driveshafts.

Throtl R34-9

The hood-exit exhaust, bead-lock wheels and a parachute mounted at the rear all point to the Skyline’s intentions – drag racing.

Throtl R34-5

Under the hood, you’ll find an RB25 block bored to 2.6L, fitted with an RB26 05U cylinder head. A Garrett G45-1600 turbocharger provides around 32psi (2.2bar) of boost in the current state of tune to deliver 1,219hp, with a CSF Race radiator ensuring reliable cooling. MoTeC engine management system keeps everything in check, controlling a drive-by-wire throttle system and feeding vital data to the MoTeC digital dash display. Oh, and yes, it has NOS. The big bottles. It couldn’t be a Fast and Furious tribute without it, could it?

A Zestek steering wheel controller and Rywire CAN module put near-total control of the car’s systems at the driver’s fingertips – two-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive, adjustable power levels and a range of driving aids are all easily selectable.

Throtl R34-7

But the fun doesn’t stop here: the final engine for this car will be an RB-based design by PRP with all the factory flaws of the RB-series ironed out. This car will be the recipient of the very first production engine of the batch, and it’s coming to the United States all the way from Australia.

The new engine will be tuned for 1,400hp, so it’s good the Skyline is equipped with a full, gusseted roll cage and a carbon fibre bucket seat with Sparco harness belts – safety is no afterthought.

Throtl R34-11

I’m not usually a fan of movie replica cars; they often try too hard and fall short. But a homage – something that takes inspiration and goes far beyond the star car’s capabilities? That’s something I can get behind.

Throtl R34-2

Throtl’s R34 build (check out the full video playlist here) is a fun way to honour our collective roots in modified car culture without being a lazy replica. It showcases the best of what the tuning world can offer in 2024.

Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpnmariochristou.world
mariochristou.world

Photography by Darrien Craven
Instagram: _crvn_

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1

For a replica build inspired from the movie, this is definitely a good build you can tell how well made it is by the time and effort they put into this car down to the finer details

2

Oh man, this hits me right in the feels! The R34 is absolutely legendary—I don’t think there’s a single car enthusiast who doesn’t get chills thinking about it. The mix of 2000s nostalgia with modern tuning is such a brilliant idea; it’s like the best of both worlds. I can only imagine how insane that build must look at SEMA. Mickey and the Throtl team really know how to keep the dream alive! Definitely adding this to my must-see list.

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