Ah, the Nissan Skyline GT-R, one of the most iconic 90's cars from Japan. Up there with the Toyota Supra and the Honda/Acura NSX. When people think of Japanese supercars, the Skyline GT-R is usually the one that they think of. Sadly the Skyline GT-R was never sold in North America. Nissan in their infinite wisdom, decided it wasn't worth bringing over here. We did get the Skyline as the Infiniti G35 and G37. But we never got the chance to own the high performance version, The GT-R.
The first time the GT-R package ever graced the Skyline was back in 1969. It only had 160 horsepower and a 5 speed manual transmission. It was also a rear wheel drive car, unlike the later cars which were 4 wheel drive. It was available as a coupe and as a sedan. It was boxy, like most cars from that era, but it still looked good. It had that certain pose that makes you just fall in love with it. It was a very handsome car.
Picture is of the 1969 Skyline GT-R
The second generation of the Skyline GT-R was only made for the 1973 model year. It was due to the rising fuel costs and with that the drop in demand in high performance cars. It was also the last GT-R until 1989. It was powered by the 1989 cc I6 S20 engine which was mated to a 5 speed tranny and sent the power to the rear wheels. This was the last GT-R that was rear wheel drive. All over GT-Rs were 4 wheel drive. They sadly only made 197 second gen Skyline GT-Rs.
Picture of a Second Generation 1973 Nissan Skyline GT-R
The 3rd generation Skyline GT-R went on sale in 1989. It was the first GT-R to employ 4 wheel drive, and it was first GT-R in 16 years. It became a big hit. It was nicknamed the Godzilla by an Australian car magazine, Wheels. When it got into racing it won 29 out of 29 races in JTCC(Japanese Touring Car Championship). And with those wins, it inspired Wheels to nickname the car Godzilla. It was powered by 2.6 L RB26DETT I6 and again was mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. It was a site to behold then, and it still is.
Picture is of a 3rd Generation 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R
Well that is it for part one. I well post about the other 3 GT-Rs later.
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