The legendary Skyline, first introduced in 1957, was originally built by Japan’s Prince Motor Company. Production of the Prince Skyline lasted from 1957 until 1966, when Prince and Nissan merged. With humble origins as a rather modest 4-door luxury car, the Skyline began to evolve into a performance-bred sportscar following the merger.
After 2 decades of success, the Skyline had been through many phases, but it was in 1989 when the real precursor to the GT-R of today was introduced. The R32 Skyline GT-R had all-wheel drive and the famed Nissan RB26DETT inline six engine that pumped out a modestly tuned 276 horsepower. The car still wasn’t sold in America, but the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) model quickly became a legend in the American tuner community and earned the nickname "Godzilla"; an unstoppable Japanese monster.
Over the next 13 years the Skyline would go through 3 very strong generations consisting of the R32, the R33, and the R34 before ending production in 2002. Following the end of R34 production, Nissan announced they would separate the GT-R model from the Skyline name, creating an entirely new vehicle; though based on the same platform as the Skyline.
Finally in 2008, Godzilla found its final form and the Nissan GT-R (R35) officially landed on American roads. Nissan dropped the Skyline name and added a twin-turbo V6 that put out 473 horsepower, propelling the GT-R to performance levels that could not only compete with, but outclass legendary American muscle cars as well as German and Italian supercars. Overnight, the GT-R became a legend. While its technologically fueled road-grabbing all-wheel drive provided exhilarating handling the beast's 450+ horsepower came from the newly developed VR38DETT.