The GT-R Legend
By Angus Mackenzie
The Nissan GT-R is like Japan's answer to the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Mustang, all rolled into one. It traces its ancestry back to the early 1960s and the boxy, six-cylinder Skyline GT sport sedans built by the Prince Motor Company under the direction of charismatic chief engineer Shinichiro Sakurai. These are some of this historical car's highlights:
01: 1964 GT-B: Basically a Prince S50 sedan with eight inches added ahead of the firewall to accommodate a tuned 2.0-liter SOHC inline-six from the larger Prince S40. GT-B version boasted close-ratio five-speed trans, limited-slip diff, and 26-gallon gas tank. Triple 45DCOE Weber carbs and high compression meant 125 horsepower.
Legend status: Briefly led a Porsche 904 GTS in the second GP of Japan.
02: 1969 GT-R: Looked almost like a regular sedan of the era, but sold without radio or heater to save weight. Engine was a 160-horse DOHC 2.0-liter inline-six derived from the engine used in the 1966 Nissan R380 sports racers. A shorter, lighter coupe version followed in 1971 and went on to dominate Japanese road racing.
Legend status: The GT-R's engine output matched that of a contemporary 911.
03: 1973 GT-R: Nissan lifted the highly successful S20 engine that made its debut in the 1969 car and transplanted it into the fourth-generation Skyline sedan and coupe bodies. Output remained at 160 horses. But the oil crisis forced Nissan's withdrawal from motorsport, and only 197 of these GT-Rs were built.
Legend status: The only GT-R never to have been raced.
04: 1987 GTS-R HR31: Based on the seventh-generation Skyline coupe, the GTS-R was powered by a tweaked version of the 180-horse RB20DET twin-turbo I-6 that delivered 210 horses thanks to different turbos and exhaust. The HR31 also featured Nissan's newfangled HICAS rear-wheel-steering system and upgraded suspension.
Legend status: Only 200 HR31s were built.
05: 1989 GT-R R32: At the time, the specifications were future-car stuff: a 2.6-liter twin-turbo I-6 that packed 280 horses, electronically controlled four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. And the R32's performance lived up to the promise: It was faster and easier to drive than a Ferrari 348 and lapped the Nuerburgring quicker than a Porsche 911.
Legend status: Nicknamed Godzilla in Australia, where it crushed local V-8 racers.
06: 1995 GT-R R33: New platform increases length, width, height, and weight. Nissan claimed the RB26DETT still delivered 280 horses, but most suspect it was actually just over 300. New Super-HICAS four-wheel steering features front and rear yaw-rate control; top V Spec version had different torque split and lower ride height. Rear wing is adjustable.
Legend status:One of the first road cars to lap the Nuerburgring in under eight minutes.
07: 1999 GT-R R34: Length shrunk by almost three inches over R33 to improve handling. RB26DETT still said to produce only 280 horses, but new, smaller ceramic twin turbos spool up faster and also help deliver an estimated 328 horses and more torque. Transmission now six-speed Getrag, four-wheel drive, and four-wheel-steer electronics more sophisticated.
Legend status: Held Nuerburgring lap record until beaten by Porsche 996 Turbo.