1994 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R – Classified of the Week

The word “legendary” is often used to describe certain classic cars but the term is somewhat subjective and often used in place of a more conservative and appropriate adjective. That is most definitely not the case, however, where the Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R is concerned. Here is a car that has transcended the esoteric world of classic cars, achieving almost mythical status by the sheer virtue of its ability to conquer all; not only on the race track but on the streets too. Its “Godzilla” sobriquet isn’t an affectation, nor was it given ironically. It was earned and the R32 GT-R still stands tall as the king of the (JDM) monsters. We know. We used to have one.

Despite rising to prominence in the early ’90s, the Skyline story actually dates all the way back to 1957 and a little known Japanese car manufacturer called the Prince Motor Company which began by building aeroplanes for the Japanese military during World War II. Before merging with Nissan/Datsun in ’66, the automaker formerly known as Prince designed and built a sedan named the Skyline, which is where the name originates. It was also a jumping off point for the Skyline’s motorsport legacy when a Skyline GT, a 2.0-litre six-cylinder with triple carbs produced by Prince Motors, came second in the Japan Grand Prix “GT-II Race” on May 3rd, 1964, only being pipped to the post by a Porsche 904. Subsequently the Skyline 2000GT was officially rolled out to satiate customer demands.

It wasn’t until 1969 with the arrival of the Skyline 2000GT-R, however, that the GT-R name was first used. This high-performance sedan, known internally as the PGC10, was developed for touring car races. Utilising a modified version of the six-pot 4-valve DOHC engine from the R380 racecar, the 2000GT-R continued where the original Skyline left off, winning at the Japanese Auto Federation Grand Prix in may the same year, going on to achieve 52 victories overall before the Nissan works team withdrew in 1972.

The next iteration of the Skyline 2000GT-R came in ’73 with the introduction of the KPGC110. Retaining the same S20 engine as its predecessor the KPGC110 featured a redesigned, coupé style body. Unfortunately the car was not a success for Nissan due to the global oil crisis at the time and less than 200 were ever made. Not only that but it didn’t compete in any touring car races either, earning it the nickname of the “Phantom GT-R”.

Fast forward to the end of the ’80s and Nissan drops its magnum opus: the R32 GT-R. Having lain dormant for 16 years, like a volcano waiting to erupt, Nissan resurrected the GT-R name for its all-wheel drive, 280bhp twin-turbo monster in order to dominate Group A racing. And boy did it dominate. With that legendary RB26DETT engine (2.6-litre inline 6-cylinder DOHC twin turbo) the R32 GT-R racked up a record 29 victories over four seasons of Japan Touring Car Championships from 1990 to 1993, defeating all comers and thus cementing its place in history before production ended in 1994 after around 44,000 were built.

Such was the tuning potential of the RB26DETT many road-going R32s were heavily modified, with ridiculous power figures being achievable. Even with a few simple mods, peak performance could be easily raised making it a popular car among modders and tuners, a trend that continues to this day. Case in point is this 1994 car for sale on the Car & Classic classifieds. Dyno tested at 515bhp it has enough power for even the most performance obsessed out there and looking at the photos attached to the advert it is clearly a well-maintained and cherished example.

The list of modifications is a little overwhelming but if you know anything about these cars then you’ll see that it’s all pretty standard, tried and tested stuff when pushing for big power – this isn’t simply a case of cranking the boost pressure on the turbos and hoping for the best. The particular upgrades the car has received speak volumes as far as tastefully and more importantly safely increasing performance is concerned and with the best part of £12K spent you know it’s all been done properly.

This is a one UK owner car having been imported in 2011 and although the car does have some rather tasty Rota style after market wheels, as well as some additional (and wholly necessary) gauges installed in the dash, both the exterior and the interior are largely unmolested, which is a pretty rare thing these days. The red pearl metallic paint looks glorious and the interior is mostly original, retaining as it does the factory seats and steering wheel.

This is a beautiful example of one of the greatest Japanese performance cars ever made that has been tastefully modified and tuned to make an already monstrous car even more of a beast. Our car had around 400bhp and that was plenty fast enough. We can only imagine what over 500 must be like in this particular GT-R so excuse us while we have a think and try to make the maths work.