Some cars get remembered for how they look. Others for how they sound. The Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 will run you over with both and leave you smiling about it. There's a piece making the rounds right now showing an R34 doing what it does best on an open stretch of road. Tell you what, it'll never get old watching that car work.

The RB26DETT inline-six under the hood is the heart of the whole thing. 2.6 liters of twin-turbocharged straight-six that Nissan built like they were angry at somebody. Stock, it was rated at about 276 horsepower because of a gentleman's agreement among Japanese automakers to cap advertised output. Nobody with ears and a seat believed that number then and nobody believes it now. The thing pulls like a tractor and screams like it means it.

What makes the R34 special is how the car puts the power down. The ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system reads what's happening at all four wheels and sends torque where it needs to go, fast enough that you don't feel the thinking happening. You just feel the car dig in and go. Add in the Super-HICAS four-wheel steering for cornering and you've got a machine that does things physics ought to have opinions about.

I've driven a lot of fast trucks and more than a few fast cars in my time. Spent most of my life in the Ozarks where the roads twist and the terrain doesn't care about your commute. But a well-built Japanese performance car from that era is a different animal. The engineering is precise in a way that reminds me of a good rifle. Everything does exactly what it was designed to do, no extra fuss, no showing off. Just results.

The R34 became a legend for good reasons, and yes, pop culture had a hand in that. But the car earned its reputation on the track and on the street long before movie cameras got involved. The Skyline GT-R line going all the way back to the R32 was dominant in motorsport, winning race after race in Group A and endurance competition throughout Japan and Australia. The R34 took all that knowledge and packed it into what might be the most recognizable Japanese performance car body ever shaped.

Prices on clean R34s have gone through the roof in recent years since they finally became legal for import here in the States. Makes sense. Supply and demand, and there's only so many of them left in good condition. But watching one open up on a clear road, you understand exactly why people pay the money. Everybody involved got it right on that car, and you can feel it every time the turbos spool.

Sun's dropping behind the trees right now and the cicadas are going full bore outside my window. Good evening to think about fast cars and empty roads. If you've never felt an R34 pull through the gears, put it on your list. You'll know what all the fuss is about the second it happens.