Godzilla Lives: A Brief History of Japan's Corvette
The GT-R is the nearest thing Japan has to a Corvette. Those three letters have signified homegrown performance for millions of Japanese auto enthusiasts since the 1960s. The GT-R story began when an engineer for Prince Motors, Shinichiro Sakurai, chopped the company's four-cylinder Skyline sedan in half at the firewall, lengthened the nose, and installed a 2.0-liter SOHC straight-six with triple Weber carburetors. Sakurai's Skyline GT went on to become a giant-killer on the racetrack in Japan.
Prince Motors, which started as an offshoot of the postwar remnants of the Nakajima and Tachikawa aircraft companies (another, larger offshoot became Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of Subaru), was merged into Nissan in 1966, but Sakurai and his team remained in control of the Skyline, which was now badged a Nissan. The first Nissan Skyline GT-R made its debut in 1969, powered by a 24-valve, twin-cam 2.0-liter straight-six; the second appeared in 1973. Fewer than 200 third-generation GT-Rs were built before it was killed off by the oil crisis. But the Skyline survived. With their straight-six powertrains and independent rear suspension (many parts were shared with the 240Z and 260Z sports cars), the Skyline sedans and coupes were the nearest thing to a Japanese BMW.
In the late 1980s, as Japan's automakers reveled in unprecedented wealth and power, Nissan brought back the fabled GT-R badge with a truly astonishing car. Codenamed R32, the 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R featured computer-controlled all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. Under the hood was a 2.6-liter straight-six with twin ceramic turbochargers that developed 280 horsepower. It was like a Porsche 959 for the masses.
The Japanese media called the car Obakemono-monster. At Wheels magazine in Australia, where I was working at the time, (Australia was the only country outside Japan where the R32 was sold), we christened it Godzilla. In an era when a regular Corvette took 15 seconds for the quarter mile, this Nissan ran it in 13.5. Out on the open road, it destroyed Ferraris and 911s with its unbelievable traction and braking. It sliced 25 seconds off the eight-minute/45-second Nurburgring Nordschliefe lap record held at the time held by a Porsche 944.
Nissan followed the R32 GT-R with the R33 version in 1995, and the R34 in 1999. Neither had quite the impact of the original. But if the rumors about the new GT-R's performance are true, then Godzilla's back and badder than ever. - Angus MacKenzie