   
The Skyline name originated from Japanese car manufacturer Prince Automobile. Prince Automotive company
started to build Skylines as a line of sedans. In 1966, Prince Automobile company merge with Nissan - Datsun.
The GT-R abbreviation stands for Gran Turismo Racer while the GT-B stands for Gran Turismo Berlinetta.
The Japanese chose to use English when naming the car as most cars made in Japan at that time used
American abbreviation to further enhance sales.
The earliest predecessor of the GT-R, the S54 2000 GT-B, came second in its first race in 1964 to the purpose-built
Porsche 904 GTS. The next development of the GT-R, the four-door PGC10 2000 GT-R, scored 33 victories
in the one and a half years it raced. The car took 1000 victories by the time it was discontinued in 1972.
The last of the original GT-Rs, the KPGC110 2000GT-R, used an unchanged S20 160HP Inline -6 engine from
the earlier 2000 GT-R and only sold 197 units due to the worldwide energy crisis. This model was the only GT-R
to never participate in a major race despite the sole purpose-built racecar which now resides in Nissan's storage
unit for historical cars in Zama.
The Skyline continued into the 1990s when it became popular largely because it remained rear wheel drive,
while most other manufacturers were focusing on front wheel drive cars. Throughout its lifetime, various special editions
containing additional performance-enhancing modifications, were released by Nissan and its performance division
Nismo (Nissan Motorsport).
Nissan Skyline ancestors was originally built and produced by the Prince Motor Company,
a japanese carmaker starting in 1957. In 1957 the Skyline started as a ALSI series 1.
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Skyline Generation 1
in the market: 1957 - 1963
Prince Skyline ALSI Series
ALSI Series I – Powered by GA30 Engine, 60HP, RWD
ALSI Series II – Powered by GA4 Engine, 70HP, RWD
- marketed as a luxury car, 4 door for sedan and 5 door for wagon.
BLRA-3 – Powered by GB30 Engine, 83HP, RWD
- an ALSI sport series with coupe and convertible models
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Skyline Generation 2
in the market: 1963 – 1968
Prince Skyline S50 (1961)
S50 - Powered by G1 Engine, 70HP, RWD, 4cylinder, 1484cc
- with 4 door sedan and 5 door wagon form - W50
S57 - Powered by G15 Engine, 88HP, RWD, 4 cylinder, 1483cc
- it was known to be the most powerful 1500cc engine in its class in Japan.
In 1966, Prince Motor Company and Nissan Motors merged.
2000GT (S54 Series – GTA/GTB) - Powered by G7 Engine, 105HP, RWD
- the birth of the legend.
- It started here when the entered into the GT-II race at the second Grand Prix.
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Skyline Generation 3
in the market: 1968 – 1972
Skyline C10 Series
  
1500 Series - Powered by G15 1.5L Engine, 88HP, RWD
- a successor of S50 series.
- with 4 door sedan and 5 door wagon form
- This were the last model that carry Prince Badge, later renamed as Nissan Skyline
1800 Series - Powered by G18 1.8L Engine, 100HP, RWD
Skyline KGC10 2000GT-X - Powered by L20 2.0L Engine, 120HP, RWD, 1998 cc
- this is a derivative of C10 originals, (G means GT).
- GC10 2000GT – 4 door sedan
- KGC10 2000GT – 2 door coupe
 
Skyline 2000GT-R - Powered by S20 2.0 Engine, 160HP, RWD, 1998 cc
- Also called the PGC-10
- the first GT-R Skyline appear February 1969.
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Skyline Generation 4
in the market: 1972– 1977
Skyline C110 Series
1600GT - Powered by G16 1.6L Engine, RWD
1800GT - Powered by G18 1.8L Engine, 100HP, RWD
2000GT-X – a successor of C10 2000GT. It was powered by an improved version of the L20 engine with an output of 130hp.
2000GT-R - Powered by S20 2.0 Engine, 160HP, RWD, 1998 cc
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 C110 was the first version to feature the round rear lights, typical of later Skyline designs.
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.
 
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Skyline Generation 5
in the market: 1977– 1981
Skyline C211 Series
1600TI - Powered by L16T 1.6L Engine, 95HP, Twin Carburetors
1800GT - Powered by L18T 1.8L Engine, 115HP, Twin Carburetors
2000GT-EL – Powered by L20E 2.0L Engine, 130HP
2000GT-EX – Powered by L20ET Turbo 2.0L Engine, 145HP
- The GT-EX replaced GT-R with a turbocharged engine, the L20ET
 
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Skyline Generation 6
in the market: 1981– 1985
Nissan Skyline R30
Starting from this generation, Nissan Skyline model prefix change to R3X onwards….
R30 was available in the following form: 2door hardtop coupe, 4door sedan and a five door hatchback.
1800TI – Powered by 1.8L Z18S SOHC Engine, 105HP
2000TI – Powered by 2.0L CA20E SOHC Engine
2000TI - Powered by 2.0L Z20E SOHC Engine
2000GT - Powered by 2.0L L20E SOHC Engine
2000GT Turbo – Powered by 2.0L L20ET Turbo Engine, 140 hp
RS – Powered by 2.0L FJ20E DOHC Engine, 150 hp
RS-X and RS-X Turbo C – Powered by 2.0L FJ20ET DOHC Turbo Engine, 190 to 205 hp
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Skyline Generation 7
in the market: 1985– 1989
Nissan Skyline R31
From this generation, it started the RB20 series engine.
It came out with a quite a few trims.
1800I – Powered by 1.8L CA18 DOHC Engine, 4cylinder, 100HP
GT – Powered by RB20E Engine, 4cylinder, 130HP, RWD
GTS-R – Powered by RB20DET, a 2.0l DOHC inline-6 turbo with 180hp at 6400rpm, RWD.
It was the first in a great family of engines that the later GT-R's RB26DETT and other Skyline engines up to the R34 series also belonged to.
RB31 engine which commonly referred as “Red Top” Engine because of its red cam covers.
 
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Skyline Generation 8
in the market: 1989– 1994
Nissan Skyline R32
The R32 Skyline was launced May 1989. Avaliable either a 2-door coupe or 4-door hardtop sedan.
R32 Models:
GXi Type-X – Powered by 1.8L CA18i 91HP, RWD
GTE Type-X – Powered by 2.0L RB20E,125HP, RWD
GTS Type-X, S, J – Powered by 2.0L RB20DE Engine 155HP, RWD
GTS-25 Type-X, S, XG – Powered by 2.5L RB25DE, 180HP, RWD
GTS-t Type-M – Powered by 2.0L RB20DET Turbo, 212HP, RWD
GTS-4 – Powered by 2.0L RB20DET Turbo, 212HP, RWD
Autech Skyline – Powered by 2.6L RB26DE, 217HP, RWD
GT-R – Powered by 2.6L RB20DETT Twin Turbo, 276HP, RWD
 
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Skyline Generation 9
in the market: 1993– 1998
Nissan Skyline R33
The R33 Skyline was launched in August 1993. Almost similar to its predecessor R32 but slightly heavier. Coupe and Sedan body form are available on R33.
All models now used a 6-cylinder engine.
Nissan later release a R33 Wagon (September 1996), called the Stagea
R33 models:
R33 GTS – Powered by 2.0L RB20E SOHC, RWD
R33 GTS25 – Powered by 2.5L RB25DE DOHC , RWD
R33 GTS-4 – Powered by 2.5L RB25DE DOHC, AWD
R33 GTS25T – Powered by 2.5L RB25DET DOHC Turbo
 
 
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Skyline Generation 10
in the market: 1998– 1999
Nissan Skyline R34
In May 1998 the R34 Skyline was introduced with a more aggressive look.
Non GT-R models were now equipped with the NEO series (more fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly) of RB engines.
The R34 GT-R would become the posterchild of Japanese performance cars and it held legendary status even in places like the United States
where it was never even sold.
R34 Models:
GT– Powered by 2.0L RB20DE NEO
GT-X, GT-V – Powered by 2.5L RB25DE NEO
GT-T – Powered by 2.5L RB25DET NEO Turbo
GT-R Projects:
GT-R – Powered by 2.6L RB26DETT Twin Turbo
GT-R V-Spec - Additional aero parts, brake ventilation ducts
GT-R V-Spec II - As above with carbon fiber.
GT-R N1 - Blue printed N1 motor, no A/C, no stereo, no rear wiper, basic interior trim. (only 45 made)
GT-R M-Spec - Leather interior, softer suspension with "Ripple Control" damper,heated seats.
GT-R V-Spec II Nür - As above V-Spec II + N1 motor, 300 km/h speedo. (only 750 made)
GT-R M-Spec Nür - As above M-Spec + N1 motor, 300 km/h speedo. (only 250 made)
GT-R NISMO R-tune
GT-R NISMO Z-tune – Powered by 2.8L (bored and stroked) RB26DETT Twin Turbo (Only 20 made)
 
 
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Skyline Generation 11
in the market: 2001…
Nissan Skyline V35 Series
The V35 was the first Skyline made for export to the United States. There it was sold under the company's luxury brand, Infiniti as the Infinity G35
The V35 comes in following versions:
250GT – Powered by 2.5L VQ25DD V6 Engine
250GT Four – Powered by 2.5L VQ25DD V6 Engine, AWD
300GT – Powered by 3.0L VQ30DD V6 Engine
350GT-8 – Powered by 3.5L VQ35DE V6 Engine
350GT Coupe – Powered by 3.5L VQ35DE V6 Engine
 
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Skyline Generation 12
in the market: 2008…
Nissan GT-R (R35)
Although the Nissan R35 GTR no longer carrys the "Skyline" badge, it has heritage in the Nissan Skyline GT-R. Just like its predecessors, the "R32-R34",
the R35 is all-wheel drive with a twin-turbo 6 cylinder engine. But thats about all they have in common, the traditional Straight-6 RB26DETT engine
has been replaced with a new V6 VR38DETT, also the four-wheel-steering HICAS system has been removed. The R35 GTR, with the chassis code
CBA-R35 or 'R35' is carrying on the naming trend from previous Skyline GTRs. It has also retained the nickname "Godzilla".
Proto:
At the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan unveiled a redesigned concept, the GT-R Proto, stating that the production GT-R would be 80-90% based on this concept.
 
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