The bulky and broad bodykit, inspired by the Pennzoil GT500 racer, gives this Skyline GT-R all the presence it could ever hope for. Combine those striking looks with a tuned RB and a complex front wing that’s pure time attack, and there’s no shortage of theater with this crazy hillclimber.

Revving all the way to 9,000 rpm, a built RB sends a banshee shriek through the side exhaust, along with all the appropriate pops and whistles. In fact, one backfire nearly blows the flag out of the startled starter’s hands (1:25). Some 900 horsepower are driven through an OS Giken clutch onto an Albins sequential gearbox, then to the race-spec differentials. Thanks to the beefy drivetrain, the outrageous power output is put to the pavement without a hint of wheelspin, so the acceleration is violent. Slow corners or fast corners, the GT-R rockets out with an urgency something so large shouldn’t have.

Pressed into the road by its monstrous wings, the Skyline leans confidently into another fast corner.

Its traction is rivaled by its high-speed stability and obvious downforce from the flamboyant aero kit, which it loses part of (1:42) as it bounces over the pockmarked surface. With reassuring poise through the faster sections of the Simola Hillclimb, the GT-R yaws slightly into the faster corners before straightening under power, but looks so composed and confident throughout, it’s no wonder why the GT-R is the tuner’s ultimate fantasy sled. Simply put, there’s nothing dull about this computer-controlled, four-wheel drive super coupe.

Suddenly, I’ve been taken back to my high school days; fantasizing about rare Skylines and whiling the time away with another round of Gran Turismo.