Reach the Skies with the Nissan Skyline GT-R

If there’s one car you would be glad to have on the race track, it’s the Nissan Skyline GT-R. The first Skyline wasn’t built for the track, however. Introduced in 1957 by the Prince Motor Company, the first Skyline was a black luxury car in both sedan and station wagon form. How did it become the speedster it is known today?

In 1964, Prince made a racing GT Skyline. It competed with a Porsche 904 during the second Japanese Grand Prix and though it didn’t win the top spot, impressively got the second to sixth places. It was all the prompting Prince needed, and soon after the Prince Skyline 2000GT was released to the Japanese market.

The Prince Motor Company and Nissan Motors merged in 1966, and all Prince models started to be marketed with Nissan badges. The Skyline variants were included of course, and over the years the sporty line went through several upgrades and improvements in their engines and chassis.  In 1969 Nissan released its first Skyline GT-R, and the rest, as they say, is history. Numerous victories and improvements later, we have the fifth, and last, generation Nissan Skyline GT-R, which was produced from 1999 to 2002.

Nissan Skyline GT-R
Image Credit: X Desktop

The final production model (R34) was called the Nür, after the German Nürburgring racetrack where the model was developed. Only 1000 units of the Nür model were made. With larger turbochargers than previous models increased boost.

In the racing circuit the Skyline GT-R is nicknamed “Godzilla,” in reference to the quality of its performance and country of origin. It consistently places at the top of racing charts and is a favorite of racecar drivers all over the world. It’s also a favorite among motorsports enthusiasts and car tuners. In 2012, SP Engineering, a company that specializes in vehicle tuning and modification, came up with an R34 GT-R that would surely make heads turn very, very quickly.

SP Engineering improved on the car’s aesthetics, aerodynamics, turbos, engine, exhaust, and transmission. When they were done, the car was guaranteed to produce a jaw-dropping 982 horsepower. With the speed you’ll get from the Nissan Skyline GT-R, you’ll have to find a farther limit than the sky.