From Sedan to Speed Legend: How the Nissan Skyline Became JDM Royalty
Posted on Dec 22, 2023
A legend among the world's JDM car community; the Nissan Skyline GT-R. (Cred: wallpapertip.com)
The Nissan Skyline GT-R was a fan-favorite performance package that injected a normal sedan with Japanese racing pedigree. Its 4-wheel drive system provided it with superior handling that made it a wonder at high speeds, and it was a common purchase for Japanese gearheads and American JDM car importers alike. The GT-R name is more familiar with the separate Nissan supercar in the present day, but it’s a name that would not hold as much weight without the release of its origin car more than half a decade prior.
The base model Skyline dates back all the way to 1957, when the first models were produced by the Prince Motor Company in Japan. These early models enjoyed success at home and in import markets, but they really took off in 1966 when Prince merged with Nissan. Skylines quickly became stars of the Nissan lineup, praised for their comfort, compactness, handling, and interior convenience features.
A 1966 Prince Skyline, produced right after the company's merger with Nissan.
These characteristics set the stage for what the commercial Skyline would become truly famous for, but there were certain models that began a separate skyline legacy. The 1964 Skyline GT was a racing version of the car specifically designed to enter Japan’s Grand Touring II race that claimed second and third place on the podium; its success on the track saw the 100 limited production road-legal GTs sell out instantly, and the GT model became a common Skyline package for a while.
Popularity of the Skyline truly exploded in 1969, when they were finally marketed with a Nissan badge and had a GT-R performance package as an affordable option. The GT-R’s four-wheel drive system and revolutionary dual overhead cam literally propelled it to victory in dozens of Japanese Touring Car races, ingraining it as a star in the eyes of Skyline customers and racing enthusiasts. Unfortunately for these new fans, a proper evolution of the GT-R concept wouldn’t be around for a long time. Even though GT-R packages would continue to be available for the next few years, infamous emissions policies from the 1970s significantly decreased the power output from the ‘69 version. 1973 marked the last Skyline GT-R option for over a decade, and left consumers unsure if their beloved racer would ever return.
The 1969 Nissan GT-R: the first model with this performance package, but certainly not the last. (Cred: bringatrailer.com)
When their prayers were finally answered in 1989, the final product far exceeded any fans’ wildest expectations. The famous name was back with the release of the R32 Skyline GT-R, combining the trademark all-wheel drive with a 280 bhp V6 engine that gave the car an unprecedented level of agility. In the 1989 Japanese Touring Car Championship, its strengths were impossible to ignore–the GT-R that Nissan entered won and continued winning every race it ever entered, ending with a final tally of 29 in a row. It’s easy to see why Japanese gearheads swarmed to dealerships to get their hands on this model.
One of the race-ready Skyline GT-R R32s that dominated the Japanese Rally Circuit podium at the turn of the decade. (Cred: Hagerty)
This envy only increased as the Skyline GT-R improved further and further. The 1995 R33 Skyline GT-R toted higher speed due to bodywork and engineering improvements, and the 1998 R34 refined the engine to propel its casual and racing drivers to new heights. The latter model is also responsible for the GT-R’s icon status in the early 2000s American racing scene. In the second installment in the Fast and Furious film franchise, 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious, Paul Walker's character Brian O’Conner piloted a heavily modified R34 to victory in an intense drag race. Fan demand for an American GT-R import exploded.
Although American import laws banned the official sale of the production car, shipping the engine and car body separately through a company called Motorex allowed Nissan to classify the vehicle as a “kit car” and skirt the restriction. This practice had been in place since the car’s introduction in 1998, but its heroic appearance in the film made it–and the trend of importing Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) cars to the States by means of loopholes–incredibly popular.
The late Paul Walker alongside one of his beloved Skyline GTRs in "Fast & Furious." (Cred: mundofixa.com)
Unfortunately for new fans of the R34, the model had already met its end. With the release of a new Skyline model in 2001, the GT-R package disappeared and never returned as an option for the vehicle. It would become its own vehicle–the Nissan GT-R–in 2008, which received its own burst of popularity and racing success worldwide. But that success did not come solely from the supercar’s debut model; it was built on the backs of the many GT model Prince and Nissan Skylines that came before it. These older models’ engineers had a passion for providing next-level performance to consumers without sacrificing practicality, and if this vision had never existed the GT-R would have never had a groundwork to elevate. So as the GT-R name carries on a nearly 70-year legacy, don’t forget to show the Skyline models the love they so rightfully deserve.
© Copyright Fraction Motors LLC - 2024
© Copyright Fraction Motors LLC - 2024