The GT-R legend began over 40 years ago in the high heat of the FIA GT series – but the supercar’s roots came from a humble beginning – the Nissan Skyline family saloon.
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The original Skyline debuted in 1957 and was made by the Prince Motor Company – which merged with Nissan in 1966 – as a mid-size mass-market saloon.
But Nissan wanted to take on the Porsche 904 in the GT class of the Japanese Grand Prix, and in 1969, premiered its first race-spec GT-R to the world – a GT-R which featured a 2-litre engine producing 160bhp.
While the engine had the same power output as a modern-day Vauxhall Corsa, it was enough to secure 50 victories in the first year and a half, and 1,000 race wins by the time it retired in 1972.
Nissan rolled out a refreshed Skyline GT-R in 1973 featuring a 2-litre engine driving the rear wheels – but just 197 examples of this model were sold and production ended in 1977.
When Nissan ended production, the GT-R took a wander into the wilderness, and those famous three letters – translated as Gran Turismo Racer – would not be seen for another 16 years.
But when the GT-R badge was revived, Nissan rolled out one of the most legendary cars the world has seen – the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R.
The R32 was the brainchild of Nissan Motorsport – NISMO – which wanted a more competitive car to race in the Japanese Touring Car Championship Group ‘A’ racing series.
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And in 1999, the R34 GT-R was unveiled.
The car – nicknamed ‘Godzilla’
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