Car history: Nissan GT-R

The GT-R features a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine and is faster around the Nürburgring than the Bugatti Veyron

Vijay Pattni looks at the hottest sportscar of the moment and one of the greatest cars in the world – the giant-slaying Nissan GT-R.

The GT-R legend began over 40 years ago in the high heat of the FIA GT series – but the supercar’s roots came from a humble beginning – the Nissan Skyline family saloon.

The original Skyline debuted in 1957 and was made by the Prince Motor Company – which merged with Nissan in 1966 – as a mid-size mass-market saloon.

But Nissan wanted to take on the Porsche 904 in the GT class of the Japanese Grand Prix, and in 1969, premiered its first race-spec GT-R to the world – a GT-R which featured a 2-litre engine producing 160bhp.

View more images of the Nissan GT-R

While the engine had the same power output as a modern-day Vauxhall Corsa, it was enough to secure 50 victories in the first year and a half, and 1,000 race wins by the time it retired in 1972.

Nissan rolled out a refreshed Skyline GT-R in 1973 featuring a 2-litre engine driving the rear wheels – but just 197 examples of this model were sold and production ended in 1977.

When Nissan ended production, the GT-R took a wander into the wilderness, and those famous three letters – translated as Gran Turismo Racer – would not be seen for another 16 years.

But when the GT-R badge was revived, Nissan rolled out one of the most legendary cars the world has seen – the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R.

The R32 was the brainchild of Nissan Motorsport – NISMO – which wanted a more competitive car to race in the Japanese Touring Car Championship Group ‘A’ racing series.

In order to qualify for the series, Nissan had to produce 5,000 road-going cars which would reflect the cars being raced – cars which the public could buy and use everyday.

Nissan were so confident of its new R32 GT-R, bosses signalled an unlimited production run of the twin-turbocharged 2.6-litre road-racer.

Factory figures put the R32’s power at 276bhp, but more unofficial tests revealed the engine pushed out closer to 330bhp, transferred to the tarmac via a complicated motorsport-derived four-wheel-drive system which included the HICAS four-wheel-steer – in essence, the GT-R was a race-car for the road.

The R32 proved massively popular, and Nissan followed its success with the revamped R33 GT-R – built between 1995 and 1997, which kept the same engine and power output.

And in 1999, the R34 GT-R was unveiled.

The car – nicknamed ‘Godzilla’ – featured the same 2.6-litre twin turbocharged engine producing 280bhp (unofficially 330bhp) and the four-wheel-drive system, together with a famous in-dash display featuring seven types of driving statistics including a G-force meter and lap timer.

The R34 GT-R was a phenomenal success – both commercially and in motorsport – establishing itself as one of the world’s most fearsome performance cars.

But at the 2001 Tokyo motor show – in the middle of the R34’s production run – Nissan bosses sneaked in a mystery guest to their stand.

A concept car appeared unannounced – and the rumour mill went into overdrive.

Spy shots, leaked performance figures and sketchy information about a world-beating Nissan supercar were finally put to rest when, five years later, Nissan gave birth to its most anticipated sportscar – the 480bhp Nissan GT-R.

It features a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, is faster around the Nürburgring than the Bugatti Veyron, costs less than a BMW M3 and is one of the fastest cars in the world – ‘Godzilla’ is back.

View more images of the Nissan GT-R