Overview

The Nissan Skyline GT-R is an iconic Japanese sports coupe in the Nissan Skyline range. Dubbed "Godzilla" by Wheels magazine in Australia when released there in 1989, it was rated by many motoring magazines, including the well-respected Wheels, as providing performance and handling equal or superior to that of European icons like the Porsche 911 and the Ferrari Testarossa, at a considerably lower price. The Skyline's home-market competitors have included the Honda NSX, Toyota Supra, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and Mazda RX-7.

History of the Brand

The Skyline name originated with the Prince automobile company which developed and sold the Skyline line of sedans before merging with Nissan-Datsun. The GT-R abbreviation stands for Gran Turismo Racer, with the word Racer being separated to enhance the performance version, as the GT-B stands for Gran Turismo Berlinetta. The Japanese chose to use English as their first language when naming the car, as most cars made in Japan at that time used American abbreviation to further enhance sales. The earliest predecessor of the GT-R, the S54 2000 GT-B, came second in its first race in 1964 to the purpose-built Porsche 904 GTS. The next development of the GT-R, the 4-door PGC10 2000 GT-R , later to be superseded by the 2-door KPGC10 version, scored 33 victories in the one and a half years it raced and by the time it attempted its 50th consecutive win, its run was ended by a Mazda Savanna RX-3. The car took 1000 victories by the time it was discontinued in 1972. The last of the original GT-Rs, the KPGC110 2000GT-R, used an unchanged S20 160 hp (120 kW) inline-6 engine from the earlier 2000 GT-R and only sold 197 units due to the worldwide energy crisis. This model was the only GT-R to never participate in a race despite only having one built which now resides in Nissan's former factory turned storage unit for historical cars in Zama.

The Skyline model continued into the 1990s when it became popular largely because it remained rear wheel drive, while most other manufacturers' models were front wheel drive (which had certain complexities inherent in achieving high performance in power or handling when compared to a rear-wheel drive car).

After a 16 year hiatus, from the KPGC110 Skyline GT-R of 1973, the GT-R version of the Skyline was reintroduced with the eighth generation Skyline R32 in 1989. The GT-R became the flagship of Nissan performance, showcasing many advanced technologies, including the ATTESA-ETS system (a hydraulic on-demand four-wheel drive) and Super-HICAS (four-wheel steering). The 1989- GT-Rs remained (relatively) cheap, with a list-price of ¥ 4.5 million (about US$ 31,000).

GT-R Skylines of the 1990s progressed from the R32 (1989), through to the R34 (1999). Production of the GT-R ceased in August 2002. Although Nissan continued the Skyline name with the release of the Infiniti G35 (sold as the Nissan Vitesse/Skyline in Japan), a new GT-R has not yet been released. Throughout its lifetime, various special editions, containing additional performance-enhancing modifications, were released by Nissan and its performance division Nismo.

Future of the GT-R

The Nissan GT-R will likely be available internationally by the end of 2007 as a 2008 model. The car is a radical departure from the traditional GT-R formula. It will be separated from the "Skyline" nameplate and for the first time the car will not share a common body style with the sedan range. The evolutionary, incremental changes between models R32 through R34 have been done away with, with much more aggressive styling displayed on the concept model (see below). Underneath the body Nissan will also do away with the traditional straight-6 engine, instead using a twin-turbocharged V6 most probably from the Nissan VQ family of engines.

There has been proof of registered trademarks for the next GT-R in Japan, Australia, Europe, and Canada as well as the U.S. (the car will be sold in both right- and left-hand drive versions). It will have to overcome many new, stringent emissions laws in Japan.

Early speculation of Nissan using the Infiniti name in North America for the GT-R turned out not to be true. At the official unveiling, Nissan stated that it will be a "world car", sold in all nations in similar incarnations. During the 2006 New York Auto Show, Nissan Motor's President Carlos Ghosn announced that the GT-R will be sold in North America as a Nissan model, and not under the Infiniti brand as previously rumored.

It was initially speculated that the North American market would receive a V8 instead of the long speculated twin-turbocharged V6 (rumors of the birth of the VK45DETT). It has long been known that Cosworth has been contracted out to do engine development, which suggests the new motor will be just as durable and strong as the RB series it will be replacing. The drivetrain configuration will most likely remain All Wheel Drive, in keeping with the GT-R's longtime theme of using advanced technologies. Additionally, Lotus has been contracted out to assist with suspension and handling development of the GT-R.

At the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan unveiled a GT-R Proto concept car (pictured right), and they have stated that the production GT-R will be 80-90% based on the concept. At the same time they also revealed the near-final design on GTRProto.com, but the material was subsequently removed and as of now the page only harbors the "GT-R logo" image. The GT-R Proto was actually the second concept version of the next generation GT-R, as an earlier GT-R Concept was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2001.

Test mules wearing bodywork that is highly similar to the GT-R Proto have been subsequently spotted on the Nürburgring, more often than not followed by a 2006 Porsche 911 Turbo that has been speculated as being used by Nissan as a benchmark car. Both the test mules and the 911 Turbo have also been spotted parked in Nissan's test facility.Sources have expressed that the car is capable of lapping the Nürburgring in the 7 minute range.

The production version of the GT-R is set to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007, with its launch in the Japanese market scheduled for Fall 2007. The U.S. launch will follow in Spring 2008.