The Nissan GT-R wasn’t always the standalone supercar killer called Godzilla, like in the case of the R35 generation. It’s part of the Nissan Skyline family, a bit like how the M3 is a member of the 3 Series brood. And since the M3 Touring is now a member of that household as well, GT-R enthusiasts are back to asking themselves “but where’s the GT-R wagon?”.
The GT-R wagon is kind of a real thing… kind of. There are two ways to make one. The rarest is a shooting brake roof conversion for the 2-door Skyline, but many others have integrated the GT-R front end design onto the Japanese market Stagea wagon.
The Stagea GT-R is one of my favorite car stories. I believe it’s really popular in Thailand and Malaysia, and I think the R35 build they did is pretty emblematic. They captured the face of a GT-R well, However, it still looks like the Stagea from the back, and that’s a problem.
There are no such build constraints in the digital world, where this R32 GT-R wagon comes from. The German artist Andreas Richter aka richter.cgi has made this monstrosity happen using his 3D studio setup, and it’s not like your average Stagea.
From the front, this looks like the first real generation of the Godzilla, the R32. It’s got a retro, shark-like appearance due to the narrow headlights. The bumper isn’t too aggressive, but the widebody fenders are just as wide as those on an RS6.
Now, the R32 GT-R didn’t coincide with the Stagea. You had the R31 generation available as a boxy wagon until about 1989, and the Stagea came out in 1996 with the M35 platform. Meanwhile, the R32 Skyline dated from about 1989 until 1994, so it’s basically inside a gap.
However, Mr. Richter is a very sneaky rendering artist, and he loves German cars. So this R32 wagon is actually built on the bones of the Volkswagen Passat. Specifically, this is the B3 generation, arguably the quirkiest-looking generation of the VW mid-sized sedan/wagon. So there you have it, a wagon version of the iconic Nissan GT-R, made out of a VW. Only in the world of renderings!
Why the rear view of the GT-R wagon is the best
The classic Skyline GT-Rs are known for advanced racing technology for the road and the RB series of high-performance turbocharged engines. The B3 Passat did have a couple of interesting engines, the 1.8 G60 Syncro and the 2.8 VR6, but they’re nowhere near as potent.
Once the shock of the Nissan-VW mixture wears off, you begin to appreciate what Richter has done to the back of the car. He’s completely implemented Godzilla’s iconic round taillights on the back of this Passat, also grabbing the bumper design and adding a spoiler. Gold wheels and purple paint really sell this super-wagon illusion as do fender flares in the classic Rocket Bunny/Pandem style.