GT-R

Make
Nissan
Segment
Coupe

We've been receiving a number of requests from readers to do a piece about the legendary Skyline GT-R. After some searching, we stumbled upon this owner and his 1994 Skyline GT-R. But first, a little background info. The Nissan Skyline started off way back in 1955 as a line of luxury cars built by Japanese automaker Prince Motor Company. They merged with Nissan in 1966 and the Skyline name went on to consist of a lineup of compact cars that were popular in Japan.

For those who don't know, the Prince Skyline was sold as both a sedan and a station wagon before it became the coupe we're familiar with today. In 1964, Prince built the first racing GT Skyline, powered by a six-cylinder engine. There were subsequent updates in the coming years and in 1969 the first Skyline GT-R debuted, powered by a 2.0-liter inline-six with 160hp. It was originally built as a sedan, but a coupe followed the following year. And like today, each of the cars was stripped of unnecessary components in order to keep weight to a minimum. Throughout the 1970s, the Skyline continued as a sedan, coupe and five-door wagon.

The GT-R version also reappeared, but because of the oil crisis at the time, the mainstream market simply wasn't interested in a high-performance coupe, but rather economy cars. For example, the C110 generation Skyline GT-R was only built for two model years, in 1972 and '73. All told, just 197 units were sold in Japan and the GT-R wasn't seen on the market for another 16 years. Jump ahead to 1989 with the launch of the R32 Skyline. Sold as either a coupe or sedan, the GT-R finally returned and was now equipped with twin ceramic turbochargers and all-wheel-steering. It was powered by a 2.6-liter inline-six with 276hp.

The R33 Skyline generation was launched in 1995 and the GT-R variant came out shortly thereafter. Powered by an improved 2.6-liter twin-turbo inline-six now with 300hp, it also came standard with Brembo brakes and an improved four-wheel-drive system. The owner of this 1994 R32 GT-R has clearly done a number of performance and stylistic upgrades. These include a rebuilt engine with many new components, a modified body, upgraded suspension, and an Apex N1 exhaust. With these enhancements in hand, it completed the Japanese Suzuka Full Circuit in just 2 minutes and 17 seconds.

All told, this GT-R is a wonderful example of what can be done to an 18 year old car. More importantly, however, is that the Skyline GT-R continued to be a legend throughout the years before it was eventually replaced by the Nissan GT-R in 2007. Photos courtesy of StavrosR32