Nissan Skyline GT-R Untold History and Myths

What You Should Know about Your Favorite Tuner Car

We get it, we live in an age bombarded with information on a daily basis though multiple platforms and devices. Couple that with the trend of no one trusting the automotive media with everyone and their mom being a content creator and proper historical information. Content creators mess up facts and don’t grasp the basics but can mask it with entertainment factor using adjectives or dropping phases like “dope spec” or “dude, so cool” on their videos. Without much bite to the content, the information about cars that were never sold here like the Nissan Skyline GT-R are muddled half-truths that just make enthusiasts or GT-R owners sigh. But here are a number of common myths and the untold truth behind the Skyline GT-R, a brand that really rocketed Nissan to the forefront of performance cars in the 1990s.

…the information about cars that were never sold here like the Nissan Skyline GT-R are muddled half-truths that just make enthusiasts or GT-R owners sigh…

GT-R Super Car or GT Car ?

We hear this one a lot. But by definition a supercar is going to have 500+ horsepower and an exotic platform and styling that is afforded by a mid-engine rear-transaxle car. In Japan, the GT-R was less of a Ferrari or Lamborghini and more of a Porsche or spicy 4-seat coupe that was comfortable and luxurious, yet a great performer. The term actually in the trim name (GT) Grand Touring and was purchased by businessmen new in Japan for ¥4,450,000 or $31,283 USD (roughly $66,000 adjusted for inflation). Even by the time the R34 GT-R wrapped up its run in 2002 it wasn’t Ferrari or Lambo money at ¥4,998,000 about $45,600 USD (a tick over $76,000 in 2022 money).

Skyline GT-R Can Handle 1000 Horsepower

Well, that is a “hell no” from us owners. The Skyline GT-R really isn’t all that exciting in stock form. Sorry to burst your tunerboi bubble but this was a 276hp car with embarrassing torque numbers from 1989 to 2002! It shared many components with Nissan cars like the S13 240SX and Z32 300ZX but the sum of its parts and that incredible ATTESA-ETS AWD system with screaming high rpm RB26 made for a spirited drive.

…The Skyline GT-R really isn’t all that exciting in stock form. Sorry to burst your tunerboi bubble…

But the GT-R needs to be uncorked and tuned. The bottom end of an RB26 can handle 500whp for a bit but early ceramic wheel turbos won’t get you there and will explode if you try. The later R34 steel wheel Garrett turbos can flow close to 500whp but the transmissions and clutches will not be happy. The R33 GT-R transmission was an upgrade from the R32 and the Getrag 6-speed in the R34 is pretty stout but not for high-horsepower abuse. Suffice to say all the big horsepower GT-Rs have built blocks and added displacement of stroker or the RB30 block.

Skyline GT-R R32s Were Single Turbo RB20 and Rear Wheel Drive  ?

Back in the 1990s, there was sparse information about this Japan-only car. Info had to be translated and/or scanned in from Japanese magazines as the fledgling internet didn’t have the volume of info. An ancient Geocities page cited the 1989-1994 Skyline GT-R as being single turbo and not AWD. This is correct for the GTS-T and lesser trims but this GT-R myth exists today. We regularly hear: “oh you converted to RB26 and the AWD,” it’s easier to just say “yes” and move on.

Nissan Stopped Making the Skyline in 2002

Wrong. The Skyline soldiered on, albeit awkwardly in Japan with cars like the anemic Skyline 350GT based on the G35 we tested in 2004. It was an embarrassment but there was also a 370GT based on the later Infiniti G37 and even a crossover version we will not speak further of. Then they resurrect the Skyline 400R nameplate on a Q50 sedan that although it has 399hp pumping from its VR30DDTT 3.0L V6 twin turbo, it just isn’t worthy of the R33-based 400R nameplate 

Another fact you can amaze your friends with, GT-R production kinda snuck on in 2003. The 2003 Nissan Skyline GT-R Z-Tune is stupid rare with only 19 ever made. Nissan bought back low-mileage (under 30,000km / 18,000 miles) and completely rebuilt them with all of the Nismo catalog of parts. One confirmed sold for over $500,000 in Hong Kong, another privately changed hands for over $1-million USD and another Australian buyer made an offer of $1.4-million but was turned down. Not bad for a $120,000 Nissan.

You can Legally Import Any Skyline GT-R After 25 Years

You can but definitely not on January 1 of your model year plus 25. The rule goes by month and year, for example 1989 R32 GT-Rs started rolling off the line in August 1989. We know one buyer who tried to be slick and roll across the Niagara Falls, Ontario to Buffalo, New York border at 12:01 AM January 1, 2014. He made it, a few months later the feds came seeking more documentation about the car that wasn’t legal until the build month on the VIN.

Another stipulation in the 25-year vehicle importation rule is that cars are not allowed to have motor swaps. They are also supposed to be relatively stock with not a load of aftermarket performance modifications on them. While not technically legal, the Feds either don’t seem to notice or be well-informed on what stock parts actually look like as all GT-Rs are modded.

You Can’t Insure a Right-Hand Drive GT-R

Obviously you can, and should. If your mainstream insurance carrier is giving you a hard time try collector car insurers like American Collectors or Grundy. It’s far less cost and they don’t really have many stipulations that some classic car insurers will. One of the issues you will run into is the VIN number since they JDM cars are 11-digit VINs while we have 17. But many insurance companies will want an inspection done and multiple pictures to justify your ancient Nissan being worth so much replacement value.

Skyline GT-R are Slow, Unreliable, and Blow Up

This is simply not the case. Myself and many owners have experienced years of amazing on-and-off track driving, while twitchy exotics are constantly in the shop. Any 1990s Nissan was well-engineered and can handle abuse. Plus when they do break, the Nissan F.A.S.T. parts system means you can get most parts at your local Nissan dealer. They won’t believe you and can’t look up year, make or model but give them a part number and they will be amazed.

Much of this myth perpetuated for two reasons. The first reason is many early Skyline owners either didn’t buy a GT-R but bought a GTS or the most broke-ass abused GT-R they could barely afford. There are over 43,000 R32 GT-Rs and a portion were poorly maintained, raced and improperly modified in Japan. The second angle to this myth is many of the cars blew up for very simple reasons, the wrong fluid and the wrong gas!  A responsible owner is going to replace all fluids with correct spec and capacity in their new-to-them JDM car.Many owners did not do this, or put the wrong stuff in, like gear oil in an ATTESA transfer case – try it out.

Then there is the pump gas issue. We measure our octane rating using the RON+MON system, which tops out at 91-94 octane depending on your state. Well the GT-R needs 100 octane but Japan has a different rating system so that number is closer to our 98. Don’t be putting 91 octane in a GT-R, upping the boost and try to be a JDM-hotboi. You will be melting a piston, spinning a bearing or exploding a ceramic turbine – 100% guaranteed.

Older Japanese cars will have solid maintenance due to Sha-Ken safety inspections and emissions tests. But once they have trouble passing, they hit auction for export – remember that. 

“mY bOy gEtS GT-Rs FoR 25K”

No he doesn’t. He probably doesn’t have a $25,000 net worth. Back when they were first legal, GT-Rs costing that much did exist but those days are over. Anyone claiming they can get a cheap GT-R shouldn’t be trusted anyway, there are many reVIN’ed cars, blackmarket cars or nearly destroyed and welded back together cars. There ain’t no Japanese CARFAX and most odometers have been replaced or stopped working. Verified mileage is rare, unmodified cars even rarer and example with both along with no accidents is an actual unicorn – buy it. But before purchase always do a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI). 

…Older Japanese cars will have solid maintenance due to Sha-Ken safety inspections and emissions tests. But once they have trouble passing, they hit auction for export – remember that…

GT-R prices are soaring, $25,000 won’t even buy you a new RB26 long block motor let alone a whole car. Nissan has introduced their heritage program to completely restore your R32 to factory specs with new OEM parts but charging upwards of $420,000. Collectible R34 GT-Rs are new fetching over $300,000 and guaranteed to be half a million dollar cars by the time January 1st, 2024 rolls around.

Rare JDM Cars at the 2021 SEMA SHOW

Million Dollar Skyline GTRs, Special RX7s, and Widebody Nissan Zs in Las Vegas

Spotting a Nissan or a Toyota is something you can do in your grocery store parking lot, but the ones you find at the SEMA Show are a little bit more special. Actually, that is an understatement, these are some of the most sought after JDM cars and some of the most popular styles in the Tuner scene. In terms of JDM and Tuner cars there is all sorts of stuff at SEMA this year, some of which you will never see, and others that you will probably see on retail very soon, with a couple only being JDM inspired. Come check out these JDM gems that we’ve spotted at SEMA 2021!

We never were sold any skylines in the US until Infiniti G35, and so to say that they are rare here is an understatement, especially for these two GTRs. This is the first R33 GTR 400R to come to the US and only 44 400Rs ever made. Named 400R because of its 400hp output, this was the rarest and craziest Skyline to come from the factory. Specifically this is a 400R in Sonic Silver making it a one of 5 ever made. Brought out by Top Rank Imports, this Skyline definitely stole the show

Vehicle: Nissan Skyline GTR R33 400R Sonic SilverThe other one is a Midnight Purple II V Spec GTR which cost about the same as Lamborghinis, one of the rarest color combos and trim packages for the R34 GTR.

We also spotted this Origin Widebody S14 Kouki with a 2JZ VVti Stuffed in it. It is hard to look past those stunning custom headlights though, but you’ll probably be staring at the tail lights of this thing if you caught it on the street.

You know the brand new GR 86/ BRZ? HKS is already making a new exhaust system so that you can sputter and bang your boxer as quickly as possible.

We also Saw this yellow RX7 from Fortune Auto, sporting a full RE Amemiya kit with the aero headlights.

Check out this S30 Widebody Z from Extreme wraps. It might look different from a standard 240Z or 260Z because of the slicker aero front end, referred to as a G Nose.

Finally here’s a couple BMWs that have adopted a lot a of the JDM tuner style and incorporated them into their Bavarian Builds.

Godzilla Rises:
The Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R

At the close of the 1980s, Nissan set out to create a car that encompassed the best of everything they were capable of producing – the most advanced drivetrain, the most powerful engine available to the general public, the most advanced electronics, and the most sophisticated driving experience they could deliver. The name they gave it, GT-R, was a direct reference to the car’s historic lineage, but to the world, the Nissan R32 Skyline was known simply as “Godzilla.”

If Japan had a social media status for its relationship with technology, it would be permanently set to “It’s complicated.” As an island nation, and a densely populated one at that, the country has always been reliant on its ability to do more with less. Even centuries ago during feudal Japan’s period of isolation during the Tokugawa Shogunate (look it up later if you’re not already familiar – it’s seriously fascinating) when almost all interaction with the Western world was cut off, there was Rangaku, a term describing the body of knowledge developed through their one remaining point of contact with the Dutch. Through Rangaku, Japan stayed abreast of world developments in technology, warfare, agriculture, and medicine, and when Commodore Perry and a US expeditionary fleet forced the issue in 1853, Japan went from a feudal society seemingly frozen in time to a fully-modern empire overnight.

After the Second World War (which had, as one of its many causes, Japan’s quest for resources to feed the country’s industrial economy), the country was back to square one, and in the rebuilding environment of the 1950s, a pop culture icon emerged from the depths of the ocean, born of atomic fire and intent on destruction for destruction’s sake – Godzilla. The OG Kaiju carried a lot of cultural baggage on his scaly shoulders, and over countless appearances in film and other media, his portrayal evolved to match Japanese society’s relationship with history and technology. Godzilla went from an amoral, elemental agent of chaos sent to punish mankind for its hubris, to humanity’s sometimes-ally; he might stomp you or set your neighborhood on fire, but he wasn’t going to let those other giant monsters disrespect the Earth, either.

What’s In A Name?

When the motorsports media gave the R32 Skyline GT-R the nickname “Godzilla” in reaction to the way it was laying down the hurt in the Australian Touring Car Championship series at the start of the 90s, it wasn’t inspired by anything much deeper than the mildly-xenophobic “Japanese monster” connection. But fans worldwide embraced the moniker, and another pop culture icon was born, representing Japan’s star-crossed love affair with bleeding-edge technology.

The R32 Skyline GT-R began as the brainchild of Nissan chief engineer Naganori Ito, who drew inspiration from Porsche’s 959 supercar. The 959 was the answer to the question, “What do you get when you throw a ton of money into developing the 911 platform to the very limit of what’s possible?” Launched in 1986, it was aimed squarely at Group B rally racing, but arrived just as the “killer Bs” were outlawed thanks to a series of serious and sometimes deadly crashes in competition. With no place to race, the extremely limited production Maximum Porsche became the ultimate high-tech German sports car for the street.

For Nissan, the starting point for their ultimate street car would be the new R32 Skyline chassis. Replacing the R31 Skyline, which had seen a GTS-R performance variant for Group A Touring Car homologation in Australia, the R32 chassis would have a veritable alphabet soup bowl’s worth of different variants – GXi, GTE, GTS, GTS-25, GTS-T, GTS-4, and finally the GT-R. No Skyline had held the GT-R designation since the short-lived C110 Skyline, which replaced the Hakosuka model in 1972, and the new R32 version embodied a radically different design philosophy from the simplicity of those previous models.

Nothing Ordinary About It

As with the 959, the R32 Skyline GT-R is an all-wheel-drive car built on a nominally RWD platform. The longitudinally-mounted RB26DETT inline-six engine is bolted to a 5-speed manual transmission similar to the one utilized in the 300ZX Turbo, backed by an electronically-controlled transfer case. The main output shaft sends power to the rear differential, while a propshaft extends forward on the right side of the transfer case to spin the front differential. The transfer case can vary the torque split from 0/100 front to rear to 50/50 by engaging a clutch pack upon computer command – borderline science-fiction stuff for the end of the Eighties.

The front and rear suspensions are both multilink independent designs, and Nissan incorporated an early version of their HICAS rear-wheel steering system to provide up to one degree of both out-of-phase rear steer at low speed to tighten the turning radius, and in-phase steering while the car was at higher speeds to improve stability in turns. While modern drivers may consider this feature a mixed blessing in terms of handling (and many current R32 owners have “locked out” HICAS), when in proper operating condition the system does offer what was promised by Nissan’s chassis development team.

The star of the show in the R32 Skyline GT-R isn’t the driveline or the chassis, of course – it’s the RB26DETT under the hood. The cast iron inline six-cylinder block features 86mm bores and a crank with a 73.3mm throw for a “true” displacement of 2,568 cubic centimeters, rounded up to 2.6 liters for the purpose of general discussion. The block is topped by an aluminum dual overhead cam cylinder head with four valves per cylinder, and compression is a very mild (and turbo-friendly) 8.5 to 1. The intake valves are fed via a trio of two-barrel throttle bodies, effectively giving each cylinder its own throttle blade. On the exhaust side, there are two Garrett M24 turbochargers, each fed from its own set of three cylinders and equipped with integral wastegates set to regulate boost to 10 PSI.

Under-Promise, Over-Deliver

In factory trim, the GT-R’s RB26 is rated to produce 276 horsepower at 6,800 RPM and 266 pound-feet of torque at 4,400. These numbers are “at the brochure,” however – at the time, Japanese car makers had an understanding between themselves that none of them would advertise a car for sale with more than 280 PS (short for the German term ‘pferdestärke’ and often referred to as “metric horsepower” even though there’s a perfectly good SI unit for power – the kilowatt…) In any case, every Japanese car company with a high performance model produced engines that actually delivered well in excess of this fictional limit, and Nissan was no different. The real figure for an RB26DETT in factory tune is more like 315-plus horsepower, and with modification and increased boost the engine platform is capable of far higher power levels.

The star of the show in the R32 Skyline GT-R isn’t the driveline or the chassis, of course – it’s the RB26DETT under the hood.

The R32 GT-R was offered in a few different variants besides the ‘standard’ production model. In 1989 and 1990, 560 NISMO models were built – 500 were offered to the public to meet the homologation requirements for racing, with 60 used as competition cars. They were wildly successful in Japanese Touring Car Championship racing, winning 29 races in 29 tries and putting a lock on the series title from 1989 to 1993. More success was found in the Australian Touring Car Championship, which led to the Aussie press coining the nickname “Godzilla” for the R32 GT-R. NISMO models were visually distinct thanks to different aero bits and pieces, while the technical changes included the deletion of ABS and metal instead of ceramic turbine wheels for improved longevity in competition.

In 1991, upgraded safety equipment including door collision bars and an optional driver’s side airbag were added, and Nissan homologated a new variant with just under 120 cars produced for the Japanese N1 racing series, all with the company’s iconic white exterior. For 1993, the V-Spec model was added to follow changes in JTCC rules – previously, cars were limited to 16-inch wheels, but an increase of an inch of diameter led to new BBS “mesh” wheels in 17×8, plus a different method of clutch actuation, minor transmission improvements, and Brembo calipers gripping larger rotors to take advantage of the additional room inside the bigger wheels. A total of 1,453 R32 V-Spec cars were manufactured, and a mere 64 V-Spec N1s left the factory. Finally, in 1994 Nissan introduced the V-Spec II, which took the factory tire size from 225/50R17 to 245/45R17, with just over 1,300 cars built.

Making Dreams Come True

All told, between 1989 and 1994, there were something like 44,000 R32 Skyline GT-Rs made, including all the upgraded and racing variants. In America, the original Godzilla was the stuff of dreams for many enthusiasts, fueled by video games and a lust for anything legitimately JDM and off-limits to US drivers. For many years, the only way to get one on the road in the States was via sketchy grey market deals or working your way through ‘display and exhibition’ loopholes of questionable legality. Today, however, foreign-origin cars that were never offered for sale in the US that are more than 25 years old are finally legal to import and own almost everywhere (California and Hawaii impose their own rules) making the entire R32 GT-R production run available.

Is Godzilla something you’d like to have in your own garage? While the supply of US-legal R32 GT-Rs has certainly exploded, so has the pent-up demand for a car that so many of us salivated over in our youths, so a good, unmolested example can run in the $80,000+ range at auction. That’s a lot of money for a three-decade-old car, but it’s hard to put a price on living a dream, and for many of us an R32 Skyline gets our heart racing like no modern car in the same price range ever could.

Hakosuka Nissan Skyline GT-R

A Look Inside the Box

For ‘tuner car’ enthusiasts, the letters G, T, and R encode a lot of information in just three characters. In the modern era, they stand for engineering sophistication and high technology harnessed in the pursuit of speed, but the first Nissan Skyline GT-R to wear them was a performance car reduced to just the basics. It was as close to the “simplicate and add lightness” mantra as any factory vehicle to come from Japan’s classic period, and it had a humble nickname to match: “Box Skyline,” or Hakosuka (“Hako” for “box” and “Suka,” short for the Japanese pronunciation of the word “skyline,” which ends up being something like “sukairain”) in the native language’s portmanteau-speak.

The current GT-R, introduced in 2007 for the 2008 model year, started out as an engineering showpiece intended to incorporate every bit of advanced technology Nissan could bring to bear, not just in terms of the finished car itself but in design, materials, and manufacturing as well. Over the past decade, every new update to the GT-R has pushed bleeding-edge sophistication, from the DOHC twin-turbo V6 to the dual-clutch transmission and computer-controlled all-wheel-drive system. It’s a monster, quite deserving of the “Godzilla” nickname inherited from its immediate predecessors, but a better description would be “Gundam” or “Mecha” to reflect its distinctly technological focus. In short, it’s the closest thing to a spaceship on four wheels.

Product of a Simpler Time

It’s eye-opening, though, to compare today’s Nissan Skyline GT-R to the original Hakosuka, introduced a full fifty years ago. While the latest GT-R tips the scales at a grounded-to-the-ground 3,800 pounds and change, the Hakosuka is a mere wisp at just over 2,400. Instead of a 560+ horsepower VR38DETT, the Hako was motivated by a jewel-like S20 naturally-aspirated inline six with a full 400 fewer ponies. There’s no active torque split between the front and rear wheels in the seminal GT-R, just a limited slip differential in the rear. In fact, about the only numeric comparison the two end-points on the GT-R timeline have in common is a six-digit price tag – if you’re shopping for either the first GT-R or the latest these days, you better be ready to write a lot of zeros on that check.

One of the things that came along with Nissan’s merger with Prince Motor Company in 1966 was the Skyline nameplate; a line of sedans that debuted in 1957 and went through a number of generations that included a 1964 GT model for Japanese Grand Prix racing. For 1969, a new model was developed with the internal Nissan designation of PCG10. Dubbed the Skyline GT-R, this four-door sedan was first unveiled to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in late 1968, and was sold exclusively through the Nissan Prince Store dealership network.

As late as the early 2000s, Nissan maintained multiple retail chains in Japan, with vehicles exclusive to each. At the time of the introduction of the Hako, the Nissan Prince Store’s counterpart was the Nissan Bluebird Store: While Prince outlets received cars like the various generations of Skyline, and later the 180SX, the Bluebird Store retailed the Fairlady Z models and the Silvia. In 1999, the descendant of the original Prince Store, which had also been titled the Saito and Cherry Store throughout its history, became Nissan Red Stage, while the original Bluebird store’s successor became Nissan Blue Stage. As seen with the 180SX and Silvia, there was a certain degree of crossover between the two main sales channels, but much like Nissan and Infiniti in the US, the idea was to separate products by price point and market focus.

With a design penned by Shinichiro Sakurai, an engineer who had formerly worked for Prince before the merger (and who would go on to oversee future Skyline generations, the Nissan MID4 concept car project, and be inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame), the Hakosuka was intended as a performance flagship to emphasize Nissan’s racing expertise. Power was derived from the S20 inline-six, which could trace elements of its design to the GR8 competition mill utilized in Nissan’s mid-rear-engine R380 race car, which itself was derived from previous Prince G-series production engines.

Straight-Six Smoothness

The S20 displaced 1,990cc, making it nominally a 2-liter design, with a markedly ‘oversquare’ bore to stroke ratio – pistons were 82mm in diameter and a crank throw of just under 63mm. This was necessary to provide as much room as possible in the pent-roof combustion chambers for two exhaust and two intake valves per cylinder in a DOHC cross-flow cylinder head. Induction was via a trio of two-barrel sidedraft Mikuni-Solex carburetors. In production trim, the S20 was rated at 160 peak horsepower at 7,000 RPM, and 130 pound-feet of torque at 5,600 RPM, with a 7,500 RPM redline. The entire engine package weighed just shy of 440 pounds, about 18 percent of the entire empty weight of the GT-R. You could have any transmission you wanted on your Hako, as long as you wanted a 5-speed manual. Finally, a clutch-type limited slip differential in the rearend ensured power made its way effectively to the pavement.

Instead of a 560+ horsepower VR38DETT, the Hako was motivated by a jewel-like S20 naturally-aspirated inline six with a full 400 fewer ponies.

Suspension design was sophisticated for a small sedan by the standards of the era; MacPherson struts in front, and a semi-trailing-arm independent rear. The ubiquitous MacPherson strut, patented just after the end of WWII, had the advantage of being both simpler and lighter than a double wishbone or multilink suspension, and despite often being thought of as a design intended for economy car FWD applications, it has been used with great success in a huge number of high-performance RWD applications throughout its long history as well. The semi-trailing arm rear was an effective way to accurately control suspension geometry with a minimum of complexity, and the layout combined with the light curb weight made the Hako GT-R unusually precise and rewarding when driven hard.

Simplicity reigned with the rest of the running gear as well. Steering was via an unassisted recirculating ball setup, and the brakes were unboosted as well. Up front, single-piston calipers squeeze vented discs, and in back, humble drum brakes help scrub speed upon demand. While that might sound archaic by current standards, the factory suspension, steering, and brake components were perfectly capable of exploring the outer limits of late-60s-tech tire grip.

The Hakosuka’s interior, while not Spartan, is definitely not overburdened with luxury touches. The upholstery and dash trim are above-average quality, with a pair of bucket seats in front and a token back seat that would be considered somewhat cramped even by JDM standards of the era. A drilled aluminum throttle pedal and a three-spoke wheel connect the driver to the machine, and the binnacle features large speedometer and tachometer gauges front and center flanked by four smaller round instrument clusters. Every Hako is right-hand-drive, of course – they were never produced in numbers that would lead to export to foreign markets (more on that in a minute) and they feature the quirky fender-mounted side view mirrors mandated by Japanese motor vehicle regulations that required placing them in a location where they could be viewed through a portion of the windows covered by the defroster vents.

A Short but Sweet Run

The PGC10 four-door Skyline GT-R was joined in 1971 by a two-door model with the internal Nissan designation KPGC10, and production would continue through 1972. In the four years the Hakosuka was built, a mere 1,945 cars were produced (with the two-door being more common by a factor of 1.5), but the GT-R absolutely dominated the competition in Japanese touring car racing with 49 consecutive wins and 50 victories overall in a little under three years. For 1973, the Box was replaced with the KPGC110 “Kenmeri” Skyline GT-R, which gained its nickname from the fictional couple “Ken and Mary” used in Nissan advertising, but only 197 were produced. After that model year the GT-R nameplate would remain unused until 1989, but that’s a story for another time.

Today, the Hakosuka is a highly-sought-after classic, and when they trade hands at auction, prices for examples in perfect condition are in the quarter-million dollar range. That’s not too bad for a car that retailed back in the day for 1.5 million yen (about $4,200 in 1971 dollars, equivalent to the buying power of $27k today). While the Skyline GT-R nameplate took a radical turn toward technological prowess and complex engineering upon its return in 1989, the original remains one of the purest examples of a “driver’s car” from the first wave of Japanese performance automobiles