The 1989 issue of the Australian-published Wheels magazine is another factor in the Nissan GTR’s moniker.
According to our knowledge, this was the first instance where the GTR was really called Godzilla in a reputable or mainstream print source.
This strengthened the brand’s reputation in the industry. A name can stick if it appears in a reliable source of information!
In This Article...
Meet the Vehicle That Gave the Nissan GT-R Its Nickname of “Godzilla”
Nissan made the decision to do something a little different at the New York Auto Show this year. The carmaker dived into its past and pulled out a few rare goodies from its historical collection, such as the blue Calsonic R32 race car that solidified the GT-reputation, R’s rather than just bringing out its typical crop of crossovers or another version of the R35 GT-R and the 370Z.
A Nissan representative informed us that all of the vehicles, with the exception of the 240Z, had been sent directly from Japan and were spending the week in New York City. We had to take a look, and Nissan’s leading GT-R expert Hiroshi Tamura was the ideal guide.
Nissan GT-R: Is It Godzilla?
A sports automobile built on the Nissan Skyline platform is known as the Nissan Skyline GT-R (Japanese: Ri Chan sukairainGT-R, Hepburn: Nissan Sukairain GT-R). The first “Skyline GT-R” vehicles, with the model code KPGC10, were made between 1969 and 1972. They were successful in Japanese touring car racing competitions. In 1973, a limited number of second-generation vehicles bearing the model number KPGC110 were produced in its place.
The GT-R moniker was brought back in 1989 as the BNR32 (“R32”) Skyline GT-R following a 16-year absence. The R32 GT-R was utilized to win the Japanese Touring Car Championship four years in a row in Group A standard versions. Prior to a regulation change that banned the R32 GT-R in 1993, the R32 GT-R enjoyed success in the Australian Touring Car Championship, where Jim Richards and Mark Skaife both used it to win the championship in 1991 and 1992, respectively. The Australian auto magazine Wheels gave the R32 GT-R the moniker “Godzilla” in its July 1989 issue due to the vehicle’s technological advancements and performance. Following that, Wheels continued to use the moniker for every subsequent Skyline GT-R generations, most notably the R34 GT-R, which they dubbed “Godzilla Returns” and hailed as “the best handling car we have ever driven.” In tests conducted by automotive journals, the R34 GT-R accelerated from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 4.4 seconds and completed a quarter-mile (402 meters) in 12.2 seconds from a standing start time. At the time, it was one of the production cars with the fastest acceleration.
The ATTESA E-TSAll-wheel drive system and the Super-HICAS four-wheel steering were just two of the cutting-edge technology on display in the Skyline GT-R, which quickly rose to the position of Nissan’s performance flagship. The automobile is still in demand today for import drag racing, circuit racing, time trials, and competitions sponsored by tuning publications. The Skyline GT-production R’s ceased in August 2002. The GT-R (R35), a brand-new car built on an improved version of the Skyline V36 platform, took the place of the previous model. Despite their obvious differences, the two cars were made at the same factory and have identical design elements.
The only Skyline GT-R export markets were Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand in 1991, and the UK (in 1997, thanks to the Single Vehicle Approval process) as used Japanese imports. The Skyline GT-R was never produced outside of Japan.
Despite this, the automobile has gained notoriety as a Grey import sports car, especially in Western countries (mainly the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Canada, and the United States). The Fast and the Furious, Initial D, Shakotan Boogie, Wangan Midnight, Need for Speed, Forza, Driving Emotion Type-S, Test Drive, and Gran Turismo are just a few examples of popular culture works that have made it well-known. Nismo declared that it would restart manufacturing replacement body panels and engines for all Skyline GT-R models in 2019.
The vehicle was recognized as one of the top automobiles in the world and as the sole authentic Japanese supercar at the time by BBC’s Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson.
Which Godzilla GTR is the actual deal?
Skyline GT-R – R32 Nissan This is the vehicle that served as the model for the current GT-R. After the factory’s 276bhp limitation was removed, the vehicle had variable all-wheel drive, 310bhp, and a ton of instruments.
Who gave the GT-R its name, Godzilla?
It came out that generation three would be the one to make a dinosaur appearance. A 2.6 L turbocharged inline six-cylinder improved the original generation’s quarter-mile pace by three seconds while boosting horsepower from 160 to 276. A
And a lot of races were won by it.
Nissan points out that from 1990 to 1993, the R32 race vehicle won every single Japanese Touring Car Championship. Along with significant victories in Europe and Australia, this winning streak led one Australian magazine to refer to the quick Nissan as “Godzilla” on its front cover. A
With all of this success, a different Godzilla became a legend that lives on today. An R34 GT-R was a key part of the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Gran Turismo’s officially licensed recreation of the GT-R allows any player to accelerate around bends with breathtaking speed. Nissanas’ monster rose to power. A
How quickly does a Nissan GT-R Godzilla go?
The 2017 GT-highest R’s speed for the Premium variant is 196 mph (315 km/h), while the Nismo model’s top speed is 205 mph (330 km/h).
The 2021 Nissan GT-R that we drove was painted Bayside Blue, a clear homage to the GT-R from the 1990s that gave this car its name.
Even after 12 years, the 2021 GT-R can still compete with newer models in a fierce manner.
Whether they love it or detest it, sports car aficionados can no longer ignore the GT-distinctive R’s appearance.
The Nissan GT-entire R’s design is intended to force the tires down to the pavement for constant maximum grip.
The vents on top of the hood work in tandem with the 2021 Nissan GT-muscular R’s front fascia to effectively feed and cool the engine.
Other sports cars that can’t quite compare to the GT-rear R’s view frequently see it
When the Nissan GT-R made its debut twelve years ago, its entire interior was geared toward the driver and was seen as quite opulent.
The infotainment system on the 2021 GT-R has a modest 8-inch screen and is about two generations behind.
The Nissan GT-3.6-liter R’s engine is incredibly efficient, and its twin turbochargers work together to deliver a lot of power very rapidly.
Each GT-engine R’s is handcrafted by one of Nissan’s select group of master artisans.
The R32 GT-R, the model that preceded the current version of the Nissan GT-R, earned the moniker “Godzilla” when it first hit the market in 2009. Our week spent driving the 2021 model demonstrated that despite its advanced age, it is still one of the world’s fastest sports cars.
Does the R35 qualify as Godzilla?
Even while the current R35 GT-R isn’t the world’s fastest or quickest car, it can compete fiercely with practically any other supercar. The Nissan GT-R, or to be more accurate, The Godzilla, is still a performance monster.
The Godzilla Skyline is what?
It was simply referred to as “Godzilla.” The Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R, which dominated motorsport for a brief but mighty time in the early 1990s, is the very definition of a monster.
The moniker was created by Australian motorsport journalists due to the car’s propensity to “smash and eat anything alive in its path” during a dominating run of victories in domestic touring car championships in Australia (1990–1993) and Japan (1990–1993). (1990-92). The Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth and the BMW M3 were among the Group A homologation specialities, but the Skyline R32 GT-R emerged as the best touring vehicle.
Skyline is Godzilla from what year?
Join Jeff Sutton of AutoHunter as he describes how the R32 Nissan Skyline GTR came to be known as “Godzilla.”
With its 2.6-liter engine, the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R car had strong homologation roots and would go on to rule the Japanese Touring Car Championship. developed under the Japanese “gentleman’s agreement,” which capped the horsepower of a domestic vehicle in Japan at 276. The GT-R has 276 horsepower in street version as a result.
Unfortunately, these vehicles were never delivered to the United States when they were brand-new, but because to the 25-year regulation established by the U.S. Department of Transportation, they can now be imported.
R34: Why a Godzilla?
Similar to the 959, the R32 featured an astonishingly intricate electro-hydraulic clutch to distribute torque between the front and the back, with a layout that was rear-biased to maintain grip outside of turns. Nissan introduced the first GT-R Nismo in 1990, a year after the R32 Skyline, and produced 560 of them to homologate it, along with a number of additional parts with increased speed, for Group A racing.
The legend of the vehicle was beginning to take shape, and it was the R32 that solidified the GT-moniker R’s of “Godzilla.” The GT-first R’s export market was Australia, which it entered in 1991. After it eliminated the venerable Ford Sierra Cosworth from the Australian Touring Car Championship podium, Australian media began to refer to the GT-R as “Godzilla, the monster from Japan.”
Nissan’s storied city-stomper will change into the R33 by 1993, with minor changes such as slightly more aggressive exterior, four-wheel drive as standard, and marginally higher engine power. A 400 horsepower Nismo variant was released in 1996 following success at Le Mans, and the vehicle was replaced in 1998.
The R34, the successor of the R33, is thought to be the most illustrious Skyline GT-R in history. Its all-star cameos in several videogames and the fact that The Fast and the Furious was Brian O’Conner’s preferred vehicle made it instantly recognizable.
The R34, the product of more than ten years of competition, was the most potent and technologically sophisticated Skyline model to date. It was the ultimate tuner’s wet dream. In original form, the car’s ceramic twin-turbo inline-six produced 280 horsepower, but tuners like HKS and Mine’s were able to increase that output to almost 800 horsepower.
Naturally, a multifunction LCD display that presented critical engine and performance statistics in front of the driver was standard, as well as four-wheel drive. The R34 was one of Japan’s most legendary supercars and one of the most difficult to obtain.
Since the R32, the Skyline GT-R has been prohibited in the United States due to pollution rules rather than speed restrictions. Because of this, getting an R34 required dealing with a variety of fees, red tape, and paperwork. For many, the R34 remained a unicorn, a hopeless fantasy that could only be realized in their wildest nightmares.
With a significantly sharper design and an enhanced chassis that were developed on Germany’s renowned Nurburgring Nordschleife track, the top version of the R34 was really just an improvement of the R33 GT-R. The R34 was incredibly well-liked and successful in motorsports, and up to the Porsche 996 911 Turbo and the official end of production in 2002, it even held the Nordschleife production vehicle record.
Despite a concept was displayed in 2001, it would take five years for the GT-R to resurface in its most recent (as of yet) and current configuration, the R35. Although the GT-R had shed the Skyline moniker by this stage, its styling and attitude paid significant respect to its past.
Why is the Nissan GT-R so quick?
The GT-6-speed R’s automatic transmission may be the most crucial piece of ultra-quick acceleration technology. Not just any automatic will do here: It has a dual-clutch automatic transmission, which means a computer controls two distinct clutches for incredibly quick changes.
The R33 is it, Godzilla.
The Z-tune, the R400, and of course Brian O’Conner’s electric-blue R34 from 2 Fast 2 Furious are three particularly uncommon Nissan Skylines. But there is only one Godzilla that is genuinely as uncommon as a unicorn: the amazing R33 LM.