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1971 Nissan Skyline C10

The Prince Motor Company introduced the first Skyline in April of 1957 and was marketed as a luxury car in Japan. The power produced by the four-cylinder engine was modest and aesthetic updates were made throughout the years, including the Michelotti-styled Skyline Sport. In September of 1963, the second generation (S50) was introduced, and it continued the tradition of being marketed to the luxury segment in Japan.

In May of 1964, the perceptions of the Prince Skyline were drastically altered with the introduction of the S54 Skyline 2000GT. Intended for competition in the GT-II class at the second Japanese Grand Prix, its wheelbase was extended by 20 centimeters in order to house the larger G7 six-cylinder engine. Prince engineer Shin'ichiro Sakurai (a.k.a. Mr. Skyline) developed the S54B 2000GT and it would dominate the Suzuka Circuit that year, finishing second only to a Porsche 904 Carrera GTS. After capturing 2nd through 6 places, the Skyline legend was born.

The third generation of the Skyline was introduced in 1968. Known as the C10 and nicknamed 'Hakosuka' (pronounced Hak-OH-skaa and loosely translated as Boxy Skyline), it was conceived by Prince and badged and marketed by Nissan after the company's merger. The Skyine version was developed with the triple-carbureted 2000GT-X and, the 2000GT-R.

The first GT-R (the Type PGC10) was introduced in February 1969 as a four-door sedan. Power was from the race-derived S20 inline-six with dual overhead camshafts, a cross-flow head with four valves per cylinder, and a hemispherical combustion chamber that was fed by triple dual-throat Mikuni-Solex side-draft carburetors. A two-door coupe version (the type KPGC10) was introduced in October of 1970.

In preparation for the Japanese Grand Prix series, Nissan removed all non-essential items from the GT-R and took it racing. The Hakosuka Skyline racked up 46 straight and outright class wins and more than 50 overall wins over a three-year run. Having proved its point, Nissan ended GT-R production in the early 1970s and did not revisit the concept until the 1980s.

Production of the C10 Series lasted from1 968 through 1972 with 310,447 examples sold. The replacement was the C110 was produced until 1977.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe

The first Prince Skyline was introduced in 1957 and was available in Japan until 1961. It wasn't until 1964 that the first racing GT Skyline was introduced, still under the Prince Motors flag. In 1966, following the merger of Prince and Nissan, the Skyline finally became a Nissan with the first performance-bred Skyline shown at the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show. The first GT-R's were produced until 1972 and were quite successful in Japanese touring car racing with 1,000 cumulative wins by the time the model was discontinued. Initially sold as 4-door sedans, a 2-door coupe, like this, was introduced in March 1971. Powering the Skyline is a 160hp DOHC 2-litre in-line six-cylinder engine. A total of 1,945 first-generation cars were built.

Coupe
Chassis number: KPGC10-000641
Engine number: S20 001996

The high-performance Nissan 2000GT-R was introduced in 1969 and is often referred to by its nickname 'Hakosuka,' which is loosely translated as 'Boxy Skyline.' The twin-cam, three-carburetor inline-six was a development of the engine powering the Prince R380 racing car. In motorsport competition, the Skyline GT-R proved to be equally effective, dominating Japanese touring car racing, winning in its debut at the JAF Grand Prix and earning over 50 victories before Nissan's withdrawal from racing in 1972.

The two-door Hardtop (H/T) was introduced in 1970, bringing even more performance through its shorter and lightweight platform and more aggressive styling. It had rear fender flares, a long-range 100-liter fuel tank, a lightweight and spartan interior with racing bucket seats, aluminum pedals, and a three-spoke steering wheel.

Production of the first-generation Skyline GT-R was exclusive, with 1,945 total examples built including 1,115 of the H/T variant.

This example was sold in April in 1971 to a resident of Tokyo and remained in the care of its original owner until 2017. The car's second owner was Symbolic International of San Diego. The car was kept in static museum storage since 1984, and received a sympathetic recommissioning prior to its export to the United States.

This GT-R remains in largely original order and has approximately 59,000 km. Only its SSR alloy wheels deviate from factory-stock appearance. The 1,989cc DOHC inline 6-cylinder engine has three original Mikuni Kogyo Solex carburetors and delivers 160 horsepower at 7,000 RPM. There is a five-speed manual gearbox, front disc, and rear drum brakes.

by Dan Vaughan