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Nissan's Skyline GT-R Was Motorsport's Godzilla. Now It's Becoming a Beast on the Collector Market.
From the postwar period to present, perhaps no nation of carmakers has made bolder strides or wielded greater influence on manufacturers and consumers alike than Japan. By the late 1960s, models like the Toyota 2000GT let the rest of the world know that Japanese marques were serious players in the sports-car segment. Nissan (Datsun in America) has long been a player, from the storied 510 sedan—a Trans-Am racing-series champ that battled BMW's 2002 and Alfa's GTV—to the popular 240Z and its successors.
Meanwhile, from the 1980s, U.S. consumers were frequently denied the 'good stuff' from Japan that simply never came stateside due to complicated DOT and EPA regulations, which made it unprofitable to bring that era's most exciting cars—especially the Nissan Skyline GT-R—to the United States.
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The Skyline GT-R (Grand Turismo-Racing) has a long history as Nissan's crown jewel. The first series was a successful touring car, of which only 1,945 were made from 1969 to 1972. The second generation of the model saw only 197 units produced in 1973. It would be 16 years before the third-generation GT-R surfaced in 1989. That all-new Skyline, called the R32, had a healthy run, and almost 44,000 examples were built through 1994.
With a 2.6-liter, twin-turbocharged inline-six engine, a five-speed manual transmission, and all-wheel drive, the R32 iteration became a formidable motorsport competitor from the outset. The engine develops 276 hp in street trim, but tuners could extract twice as much. That car earned the nickname 'Godzilla' from the Australian motoring press, as it claimed repeated victories in touring-car championships in Japan and around the world.
This dominance frustrated international enthusiasts, as the Skyline was a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) rarity sold only in Japan and a few Pacific Rim regions such as Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. But in 2014, the first R32 models could finally be imported into the U.S. through a federal rule that allows non-compliant cars that are 25 years and older to be brought stateside. An eager market opened up, making the Skyline an instant collectible.
The fourth generation of Skyline GT-R was the R33, with 16,668 produced from 1995 to 1998. It featured evolutionary improvements, although the engine was nearly identical to its predecessor. Special editions like the 1996 Nismo 400R produced 400 hp and are top collectibles within the R33 series. The fifth and final generation of the Skyline GT-R was the R34, made from 1999 to 2002 in a run of 11,578 units, with a variety of specifications and special series along the way. The last of these—the Skyline GT-R M-Spec Nür (short for Nürburgring), is the most desirable of them all. With only 1,003 made, examples are valued closer to $500,000 than not.
It's human nature to covet what can't be had. But now that the Skyline GT-R—made only in right-hand drive—is more readily available, it will take a little getting used to piloting on North American roads, as will shifting with one's left hand. As to which model to choose, budget will be the determining factor. Prices range from $60,000 for good-condition cars to five times as much for concours special editions, but $100,000 should buy an excellent example of the base model. To really get acquainted with the model, enthusiast groups are the best place to start learning the ins and outs of Godzilla of Robb Report
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