Nissan Calsonic R32 GT-R livery comes to Supercars

Though the original Calsonic Skyline GT-R still lives in Japan, a part of it has made its way to Australia. It’s livery.

A recreation of the famous blue Group A racer will appear in the form of the #23 NISMO Nissan Altima Supercar, driven by Michael Caruso and Dean Fiore, at the Sandown 500 retro round.

The Calsonic R32 Skyline GT-R took out an astonishing 15 victories in the Japanese Touring Car Championship, and won the 1990 and 1993 championships.

In addition, Australia also witnessed the potential of the R32 GT-R on the track, as it took out the Bathurst 1000 twice and the Australian Touring Car Championship three times, albeit not in Calsonic guise.

“Nissan has achieved a lot in global motorsport and there are so many great liveries to choose from," says Caruso.

"The Calsonic livery is one of Nissan's most famous and perfectly represents its racing heritage.

“The original Calsonic GT-R was so successful on the track. A perfect record is unheard of in motorsport, so this definitely elevates this car to legendary status.

“Mark Skaife explained what it was like to drive and it sounded wild. What a beast!

"I hope I can emulate its success at the Sandown 500."

Even today, Calsonic sponsors a Nissan GT-R GT500 car in the Autobacs Super GT 2017, which races under the Team Impul banner (as the R32 GT-R did) against Honda NSX-GTs, Lexus LC 500s, and other Nissan GT-Rs.

The Sandown retro round in which the Calsonic Altima Supercar will run kicks off on Friday September 15.