To the uninitiated, that the Nissan GT-R has been nicknamed "Godzilla" seems almost cute and cuddly. But to anyone in the know, this unfathomably capable monster of a car has earned the right to share a name with the King of the Monsters. By their measure, it's Godzilla that should be flattered to be associated with the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R two-door 2+2 coupe.
The Nissan GT-R story starts back in 1969 when Nissan decided to take its Skyline model racing. That first "PGC10" Skyline GT-R was actually a four-door, rear-drive sedan powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter inline-6 making 160 horsepower. Immediately legends built up around the car as it racked up 33 wins in the Japanese touring car series during its year and a half of competitive life. The Nissan GT-R legend was already firmly in place.
Though the GT-R name disappeared after 1977, the Skyline carried forward. And in 1989 Nissan decided to revive the Skyline GT-R in the form of the "R32" coupe that featured such leading-edge technologies as rear-wheel steering, electronically adjustable all-wheel drive and twin sequential turbochargers lashed to its 2.6-liter DOHC straight-6. With the engine laughably underrated at 276 hp, the R32 performed with such scalding brilliance that the rest of the world had to take notice. By the time its successor the R33 appeared in 1995, the Nissan Skyline GT-R was clearly one of the world's premier performance machines. And by the time of the R34, in production between 1999 and 2002, even Americans were lusting after the GT-R though it had never been made with left-hand drive or sold at retail outside Japan and Australia.
The Skyline name never made it to America, but the Nissan GT-R finally did in 2008 with the introduction of the "R35," now named simply GT-R. Packing even more whizbang technology, the 480-hp twin-turbo V6, all-wheel-drive R35 is a purpose-built domination machine capable of lapping the Nürburgring alongside supercars. But unlike those impractical midengine beasts, throw the rear-mounted dual-clutch six-speed automatic into Drive and the Nissan GT-R can be used as comfortable, everyday transportation.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R may be Godzilla, but it's a well-behaved Godzilla.
