An Australian magazine gave the Skyline GT-R its famous monster nickname
The Skyline GT-R was never built outside Japan and was officially exported to only a handful of countries, yet the name Godzilla came from Australia. The motoring magazine Wheels coined it in July 1989 for the R32, the car that went on to dominate Australian touring car racing until the rules changed to exclude it.
The GT-R badge dates to 4 February 1969. The Skyline itself was a Prince Motor Company product, launched in 1957, and joined Nissan's range after the two firms merged. Its engineers borrowed Italian naming, with GT-R meaning Gran Turismo Racing, because Western labels were thought to help sales. The four-door original piled up 33 wins in a year and a half of racing, its streak ended by a Mazda Savanna RX-3 as it chased a 50th straight victory. Fans called that boxy first model Hakosuka, joining the Japanese word for box to a clipped form of Skyline, and 832 saloons plus 1,197 coupés were built.
Its 1973 successor is a curiosity. Popularly named the Kenmeri after an advertisement about a young couple called Ken and Mary touring Hokkaido, which spawned a hit song and made a roadside tree famous, it lasted only 197 cars. The energy crisis and tightening emissions rules killed it, and it is the only GT-R never to contest a major race.
After 16 years without a GT-R, Nissan revived the name for the R32, conceived to dominate Group A racing. Its twin-turbocharged 2.6-litre six drove all four wheels, and it won the Japanese Touring Car Championship four years running; Jim Richards and Mark Skaife took Australian titles with it in 1991 and 1992.
Official exports began in 1991 to just four markets, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong, with Britain added in 1997. Grey imports, films such as The Fast and the Furious and games like Gran Turismo made it a global icon, and in 2019 Nismo restarted production of parts, including engines, for every generation.
Source: Nissan Skyline GT-R
