Nissan Skyline: 1957–present

The Nissan Skyline (スカイライン in Japanese) is a line of compact cars and compact executive cars originally produced by the Japanese premium carmaker Prince Motor Company starting in 1955 and subsequently by Nissan after the two companies merged in 1966. It is currently available in either coupé, or sedan body styles, and are most commonly known by their round brake lights, with the station wagon bodystyle being 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

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The first Skyline was introduced in April 1957, by the Prince Motor Company, and was marketed as a luxury car. It featured a 1.5 L (1482 cc) GA-30 engine producing 44 kW (60 hp) @ 4400 rpm

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ALSID-2

The Skyline was updated with quad headlights for 1958.

This model was powered by a slightly altered 1.5 L engine known as the GA-4 OHV (1484 cc) producing about 70 hp (52 kW) @ 4800 rpm and was produced through 1961.

In 1962, this model was restyled as the S21D/S series

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BLRA-3

The Skyline Sport featured hand-built Michelotti bodies in stylish coupe and convertible versions. These cars used the 1.9 L (1862 cc/113 in) GB-30 engine, producing 96 hp (72 kW) and 113.5 ft·lbf (154 N m). While only a few hundred were built, Prince Motors had a very aggressive product placement group and they can be seen (along the company's mainstream models) in many Toho films of the early 1960s.

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S50

In 1961 Fuji Precision Industries changed its name to Prince after the 1954 merger, and the S50 series was launched, which like its predecessor, came in sedan and wagon bodystyles. This was the second generation car, and became one of the more desirable cars in Japan. It was powered by the G-1 engine, a 70 hp (52 kW) version of the old GA-4. A 1862 cc engine was also available, delivering 91 hp (68 kW). The S50 series were available with a 3-speed column shift transmission or a 4-speed floor shift transmission, as well as a 4-door sedan (S50) or a 5-door wagon (W50).

Three models of the S50 were built: S50E (1962–1965), S50E-2 (1965–1966), and S50E-3 (1967). All three used the same engines.

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S54 Skyline 2000GT

Prince created a racing GT Skyline in May 1964. It was based on the S54 and used the larger 6-cylinder G-7 engine from the Gloria S41.

Largely due to the success of the race vehicle, the Prince Skyline 2000GT (also called GT-A, GT-B, S54A and S54B) was released to the Japanese market. There were two versions produced:

* S54A – 1988 cc G-7 single-carb I6, 105 hp (78 kW)
* S54B – 1988 cc G-7 triple-carb I6, 125 hp (94 kW)

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The C10 Skyline was launched with Prince's 1.5 L OHC G15 I4 like the S57. A 1.8 L G18 version was also available.

A station wagon variant, known previously as the Prince Skyway, was offered with this generation. A hardtop coupé was introduced in October 1970.

2000GT-X

In 1971, the KGC10 2000GT-X received a 2.0 L (1998 cc) L20 I6 engine instead of a Prince G-7 engine. The chassis was already designed to receive a straight six, to avoid the S54 extension problem. 120 hp (78 kW) was available from this new engine, in March 1972 Nissan introduced 4 Door Sedan GT-X.

2000GT

The following year, the GC10 2000GT received a 2.0 L (1998 cc) L20 I6 engine like the Nissan Cedric instead of a Prince G-7 engine. The chassis was already designed to receive a straight six, to avoid the S54 extension problem. 105 hp (78 kW) was available from this new engine, in 1970 Nissan production Skyline 2000GT Automatic, in October 1970 Nissan introduced 2 Door Coupe.

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GT-R

The first GT-R Skyline appeared in February 1969 Called the PGC-10.
It used the 2.0 L (1998 cc) S20 I6. This new DOHC engine (which was designed by the former Prince engineers) produced 160 hp (118 kW, 180 N m), and was similar to the GR8 engine used in the Prince R380 racing car.

The GT-R began as a sedan, but a 2-door coupé version was debuted in October 1970 and introduced in March 1971. The cars were stripped of unnecessary equipment to be as light as possible for racing, and performed well at the track. The sedan racked up 33 victories in less than two years, and the coupé stretched this to 50 through 1972.

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C110

The C110 generation was produced from 1972 through 1977.

For export in the 1970s, the C110 and GC110 Skyline was sold as the Datsun K-series, with models such as the Datsun 160K, 180K and Datsun 240K.

The body styles were, once again, four-door sedan, two-door hardtop coupé, and five-door station wagon. The C110 was more fussy in its styling than its predecessor, particularly so in wagon form, where unusually for a wagon design, no windows were fitted between the C and D pillars. The C110 was the first version to feature the round rear lights, typical of later Skyline designs.

GT-R

The Nissan Skyline GT-R hardtop arrived in September 1972 but only lasted until March 1973, when Nissan ceased its production. The oil crisis saw many people preferring economy cars and high-performance sports cars were looked down upon. Nissan pulled out of Motor Racing, so there was no purpose to the GT-R. It was not officially exported anywhere, although Nissan contemplated exporting to Australia. Only 197 KPGC110 GT-Rs were ever sold in Japan, through specialist Nissan Performance shops (before it was called NISMO). This was the last GT-R for 16 years until the BNR32 in 1989

Models:

* 1600 – 1.6 L G16 I4
* 1800 – 1.8 L G18 I4
* 2000GT-X – 2.0 L L20A I6, 130 hp (96 kW, 172 N m)
* 2000GT-R – 2.0 L S20 I6, 160 hp (118 kW, 180 N m)

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C210

The succeeding C210/211 and GC210/211 of 1977 continued to split the Skyline range into basic and six-cylinder models, the latter with a longer front end. This line continued through 1981. The Datsun C211 240K/280K and 240C/280C variants continued for export.

The GT-EX replaced the GT-R with a turbocharged engine, the L20ET. This was the first turbo engine to power a Japanese production vehicle. One notable aspect of the turbo versions was that they were not intercooled and there was no form of blowoff valve, only an emergency pressure release valve.

The "T" designation on the L16T and L18T does not signify a turbocharger was included; it denotes that those engines came with twin carburetors.

Models:

* 1600TI – 1.6 L L16T I4, 95 hp (71 kW, 132 N m)
* 1800TI – 1.8 L L18T I4, 115 hp (86 kW, 152 N m)
* 2000GT-EL – 2.0 L L20E I6, 130 hp (97 kW, 167 N m)
* 2000GT-EX – 2.0 L L20ET turbo I6, 145 hp (108 kW, 206 N m)

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