Nissan Skyline GT-R (1989–2002)

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The car the Australians nicknamed Godzilla — and then had banned for winning too much.

When the R32 Skyline GT-R appeared in 1989, it made a mockery of the competition so completely that an Australian magazine dubbed it Godzilla. Under the skin was a twin-turbocharged 2.6-litre straight-six and, crucially, a clever electronically-controlled all-wheel-drive system that could send power wherever it found grip — technology years ahead of its rivals.

It had been built to win Group A touring car racing, and it did, ruthlessly: it swept the Japanese championship every year from 1990 to 1993, and dominated in Australia so thoroughly that the rules were rewritten to keep it out. Officially it made 276 hp — a figure capped by a gentlemen's agreement among Japanese makers — though everyone knew the real number was higher.

Through the later R33 and R34 generations the legend only grew. The Skyline GT-R turned a humble family-car nameplate into the most feared performance badge Japan has produced.

Written and fact-checked for every.autos · every claim checked against the sources below · 2026-07

Sources (2)

Background

The Nissan Skyline GT-R is a Japanese grand tourer based on the Nissan Skyline range. The first cars named "Skyline GT-R" were produced between 1969 and 1972 under the model code KPGC10, and were successful in Japanese touring car racing events. This model was followed by a brief production run of second-generation cars, under model code KPGC110, in 1973.

Text adapted from “Nissan Skyline GT-R” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07

Production years

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Sources

Wikipedia ↗Wikidata ↗ WIKIDATA confidence: high