Nissan Skyline

Nissan Skyline (スカイライン in Japanese) is a line of compact cars, sports cars and compact executive cars originally produced by the Prince Motor Company starting in 1955, and then by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1966. After the merger, the Skyline and its larger counterpart, the Nissan Gloria, were sold in Japan at dealership sales channels called Nissan Prince Shop.

It is currently available in either coupé, or sedan body styles, and are most commonly known by their trademark round brake and tail lights (as of 1972); the station wagon bodystyle was dropped in 1989 with the introduction of the R32 platform.

Iterations R30 to R34 of the Skyline are still popular tuner cars for Japanese car enthusiasts from the 1980s to today, especially with available features such as straight-6 engines, turbochargers, and the high-performance GT-R trim. While not distributed in the United States, the Skyline's prominence in video games, movies and magazines resulted in many such cars being imported there from 1999 to late 2005, after Motorex petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow 1990–1999 GT-Rs and GTSs to be imported, at the condition that they were modified to meet United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

BNR32
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 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). Initial production of the car was the required 510 to allow for homologation starting on May 22, 1989. Its successful debut along with critical acclaim by the motoring press created a heavy demand for the car. Nissan officially started an unlimited production run August 1989, and began its Group A campaign in 1990. Due to strict Group A homologation rules, Nissan was required to also sell a series of the Skyline GT-R which more accurately reflected the car they use in Group A racing. This series was called the Skyline GT-R 'Nismo' edition.

Specs

 * Engine name: RB26DETT
 * Engine type: L6 DOHC
 * Max power: 308 hp / 6800 rpm (actual figures as opposed to the quoted 276 hp. Takeshi's grip R32 is tuned to 395 hp, while Rin Hojo's Shinigami R32 is tuned to 650 hp).
 * Maximum torque: 42.9 kgm / 4400 rpm
 * Displacement: 2568 cc
 * Drivetrain: 4WD
 * Aspiration: Twin turbo
 * Length: 4545 mm
 * Height: 1340 mm
 * Width: 1755 mm
 * Weight: 1430 kg
 * Transmission: 5MT (5-speed manual gearbox)
 * Body kit: Custom front splitter (for Takeshi)/Nismo (for Rin Hojo)
 * Misc.: GT Wing (for Rin Hojo)
 * Known drivers: Takeshi Nakazato, Rin Hojo

R34
The GT-BNR34 (R34) Skyline GT-R and GT-R V-spec models were released in January 1999. The R34 GT-R was also made to be shorter (from front to rear), and the front overhang was reduced.

R34 GT-R V-Spec (Victory Specification) models come equipped with the ATTESA E-TS Pro system and an Active LSD at the rear, while standard GT-R models come with the non-Pro system and a conventional mechanical differential. The 'M' on the M-Spec stood for Mizuno who is the chief engineer of Nissan. In August 2000, Nissan released the V-Spec II, replacing the V-Spec. And in 2002, Nissan released the M-Spec Nur and V-Spec II Nur models, in where the "Nur" stood for the legendary Nurburgring race course in Germany.

There also exists a 25GT Turbo Skyline, which instead uses the classic rear-wheel drive layout. The grille is made to resemble a Silvia, but with the headlights from the previous modern Skylines.

25GT-T ER34

 * Engine name: RB25DET
 * Engine type: L6 DOHC
 * Max power: 276 hp (Atsuro's ER34 produces 400 hp / 6400 rev / min)
 * Maximum torque: kgm / 3200 rev / min
 * Displacement: 2498 cc
 * Drivetrain: FR
 * Aspiration: Turbo
 * Length: 4580 mm
 * Height: 1340 mm
 * Width: 1725 mm
 * Weight: 1410 kg
 * Transmission: 5MT (5-speed manual gearbox)
 * Known drivers: Atsuro Kawai

V-Spec II Nür BNR34

 * Engine name: RB26DETT (Hoshino's R34 has the N1 engine)
 * Engine type: Inline-6 DOHC
 * Max power: 332 hp (actual output, as opposed to the quoted 276. Kozo's R34 is tuned to 500 hp)
 * Max torque: 46 kgf.m
 * Displacement: 2568 cc
 * Drivetrain: 4WD
 * Aspiration: Twin Turbo
 * Length: 4600 mm
 * Height: 1360 mm
 * Width: 1785 mm
 * Weight: 1560 kg
 * Transmission: 6MT (6-speed manual gearbox)
 * Body kit: Nismo
 * Known drivers: Kozo Hoshino

Performance

 * The Skyline GT-R soon earned the name "Godzilla", for its "monster" track performance and country of origin. The R32 GT-R dominated JTCC, winning all 29 races it entered in the series, as well as taking the series title every year from 1989–1993.
 * The GT-R's success in motor racing was formidable, particularly in the annual 1,000 km race at the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst, Australia, where the winner in 1991 and 1992 was a GT-R (despite receiving additional 100 kg (220 lb) in weight penalties and a turbo pop off valve in 1992, and crashing), and in the Japanese GT series where it has remained dominant for many years. The Skyline GT-R line were retired from the JGTC series (later changed Super GT Series) in 2004. Its successor, the Nissan GT-R (R35), competed and dominated the 2008 Super GT season, winning the GT500.
 * Kozo's Nür model is a rare, limited edition variant. In real life, only 750 of these were produced, notable for having a special speedometer that reads to 300 km/h as opposed to 180 km/h found on non-Nür models as well as in most JDM cars and gold-coloured valve covers.

Weakness

 * The GT-R's primary weakness stems from its heavy body: this causes its tires and brakes to wear out faster than those of lighter cars. As a result, GT-Rs are at an inherent disadvantage in prolonged battles.
 * The R32 suffers from the additional weakness of an especially-heavy front section, which results in understeering and even more severe wear on the front tires.

Trivia

 * RB26DETT is a unique turbocharged RB variant. It has six individual throttle bodies (as opposed to the traditional single throttle body) and parallel twin-turbo, as opposed to single turbo on any other RB variants.
 * The N1 spec RB26DETT is equipped with steel turbine wheels as opposed to ceramic ones found in standard RB26DETT. This is because steel turbine wheels are more durable for tuning/modifying purposes than ceramic. Theoretically, without any engine block and rotating assembly modifications, the N1 block should be able to handle up to 800 hp.
 * The GT-T ER34 variant, despite having such performance, was classified as a low-emission vehicle due to having a NEO head which reduces emission and fuel consumption.