History | Gojira R34

Where the Brand came From

The Skyline name originated from Prince automobile company, which developed and sold the Skyline line of sedans before merging with Nissan-Datsun. The earliest predecessor of the GT-R, the S54 2000 GT-B, came second in its first race in 1964 to the purpose-built Porsche 904 GTS. However, the earlier Prince Skyline Sport coupe/convertible foreshadowed the GT-R as the first sports-oriented model in the Skyline range, hence the name.

The next development of the GT-R, the four-door PGC10 2000 GT-R, scored 33 victories in the one and a half years it raced, and by the time it attempted its 50th consecutive win, its run was ended by a Mazda Savanna RX-3. The car took 1000 victories by the time it was discontinued in 1972.

GTR stands for Gran Turismo Racer

First Generation

The first Skyline GT-R, known by the internal Nissan designation PGC10, was released on 4 February 1969, and was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealership network called Nissan Prince Store when the Prince company was integrated into Nissan operations in 1966. It was available originally as a four-door sedan after a public debut at the October 1968 Tokyo Motor Show. It was advertised alongside the Nissan R380 racecar to showcase the Skyline's racing heraldry. It was equipped with the 2.0 L DOHC S20 I6 producing 160 hp (120 kW) at 7000 rpm and 177 N⋅m (131 ft⋅lbf) of torque at 5600 rpm. Power was delivered to the rear wheels by a 5-speed manual transmission. The first Skyline GT-R rode on a semi-trailing arm strut suspension.

A total of 1,945 PGC and KPGC10 Skyline GT-Rs were produced.

The engine of the GTR is put together by hand. There are only 4 engineers in the world who are allowed to do this. They are Takumi, a master craftsman with a lot of experience. 4 of them have more than 100 years of experience, combined.

Second Generation

The Second Generation Skyline was released in 1973 after its introduction at the 1972 Tokyo Motor Show. Powered by a 1989 cc I6 S20 engine, the second generation GT-R delivered power to the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual gearbox. This car also had both front and rear disk brakes. The suspension was a semi-trailing ring arm setup and minor aerodynamic parts were added.

Unfortunately, the second generation GT-R was unsuccessful, for a gasoline crisis hit in the early 1970s, drying out any demand for high-performance sports cars. A total of 197 cars were built by the end of its short production run. For the next decade, this was the last GT-R until the production of the R32 in 1989.

This Skyline was nicknamed "Kenmeri" Skyline, due to a popular advertisement featuring a young couple (Ken and Mary) enjoying the Hokkaido countryside.

Third Generation

After cancelling the Skyline GT-R in 1973, Nissan revived the GT-R again in 1989. At the time Nissan was competing in Group A Racing with the Skyline GTS-R. Nissan wanted to retire the GTS-R in favor of a more competitive vehicle. The new generation GT-R, E-BNR32 chassis (commonly shortened to R32), was designed to dominate Group A racing.

This new 2.6 L RB26DETT-powered all wheel drive concept was put into production as the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R. The R32 developed 206 kW (276 hp) and 266 lb⋅ft (361 N⋅m) of torque, it had a curb weight of 1,430 kg (3,146 lbs). Nissan officially started its production run 21 August 1989, and began its Group A campaign in 1990.

It includes five consecutive championship wins in the all Japanese Touring Car Championships and over 200 race wins, plus the unofficial lap record for a production car at the world-famous Nurburgring. Just about every part of the R32 has been developed and refined on the race track.

The formidable technology and performance of the R32 GT-R prompted the Australian motoring publication Wheels to nickname the GT-R "Godzilla" in its July 1989 edition.

Fourth Generation

The E-BCNR33 (R33) was developed in 1995 as a successor to the R32 model. The engine in the R33 was nearly identical to the R32. It used the same turbochargers and the same specification for the manual gearbox, although the syncros were stronger. The engine corrected the R32's weak oil pump drive collar, which tended to fail in higher power applications, by using a wider collar.

The R33 GT-R launched in January 1995 with the base model GT-R and the V·Spec model. The V·Spec model weighed in 10 kg (22 lb) heavier, and had sportier suspension resulting in lower ground clearance.

A proud moment in history for the R33 was when it took the production car lap record at the Nurburgring in Germany. The stock standard version blasted around the 13-miles and 172 corners of the circuit in 7 minutes 59 seconds.

During the 90’s, Japanese car manufactures were under agreement to only produce cars with a maximum power output of 276 bhp. However the Rb26 found in the R32, R33 and R34 was quite a bit more powerful than that. When the R32 left the factory and hit the dynos, many people found that the engine was actually producing 330+ bhp.

Fifth Generation

The Nissan Skyline GTR R34 has elvoled and fine-tuned through 11 years of competitive racing and extensive testing, which has resulted in one of the best race-bred coupes on the market.

The R33 which it replaced was a great car but the R34 GTR is much more advanced in every area. Under the hood are twin ceramic intercooled turbochargers, which effectively eliminate turbo-lag. The RB26DETT in-line, 2568cc six-cylinder engine retains the 280PS at 6,800 rpm of the R33 it replaced. It also has better power delivery and more torque than it predecessor. Also the R34’s body is stiffer and the aerodynamics of the car have been improved.

Nissan’s electronically controlled four-wheel drive system “ATTESA-E-TS PRO” is specifically designed for both road and racetrack use. Most other all-wheel drive systems are designed for off-road applications or rally cars. The system was designed for more high speed road use, it has a series of sensors and two centrally controlled wet multi-plate clutches to optimise torque split between the front and rear axles. It eliminates understeer and gives optimum traction and stability under acceleration, braking and cornering.

Continuous fettling created many limited-run R34s – there were 11 variations in total.