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Nissan Skyline H/T 2000 GT-R 'Hakosuka' (1972) - when Porsche almost lost its smile

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Created on July 18, 2014

Text:

Balz Schreier

Photos:

Nissan Motor Company

RM Auctions

Archiv

Nissan Motor Company

RM Auctions

Archiv

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Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-R 'Hakosuka' (1972) as lot 201 auctioned in Monterey on August 15-16, 2014 by RM Auctions

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Details of the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-R 'Hakosuka' (1972) auctioned in Monterey on August 15-16, 2014 by RM Auctions

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Cockpit of the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-R 'Hakosuka' (1972) auctioned in Monterey on August 15-16, 2014 by RM Auctions

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The heart named S20 in the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-R 'Hakosuka' (1972) auctioned in Monterey on August 15-16, 2014 by RM Auctions

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Trunk of the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-R 'Hakosuka' (1972) auctioned in Monterey on August 15-16, 2014 by RM Auctions

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Prince Skyline Sports Coupe (1962) with Michelotti bodywork

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In the 1964 Japanese GT Grand Prix, the Nissan Skyline GT was even ahead of the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS for a short time

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Prince S54 Skyline 2000GT (1964) - racing car from the 2nd Japanese GT Grand Prix 1964 (unfortunately lost narrowly to the lightweight Porsche 904 Carrera GTS)

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Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (1969) next to Prince R380

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Cockpit of the Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (1969)

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Interior of the Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (1969)

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Engine S20 of the Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (1969)

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Nissan Skyline engine S20 of the Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (1969)-R (1969)

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Sport bucket seats in the Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R (1969)

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Nissan Skyline Hardtop Coupé 2000GT-R (1970)

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Summary

Nissan (and Datsun) built not only family cars as we know them in Europe, but also solid sports cars, GT vehicles and touring cars early on. The Skyline is one of these fast cars and they gave some established GT and sports car manufacturers a run for their money. This report portrays a Nissan Skyline from the seventies and shows its predecessors and relatives in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

It all began at the Paris Motor Show in 1957
Second Skyline generation S50 (1963-1968)
Third generation Skyline C10 (Hakosuka) (1968-1972)
Coronation GT-R (Gran Turismo Racer)

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

If a survey had been conducted in Europe in the 1970s to find out what body shapes people would think of when they heard the name "Nissan", the result would certainly have been quite clear: small, angular and reminiscent of shoe boxes. People would also have associated it with cars for people on a tight budget, for people with no desire for high performance, cars with no soul, serving only the purpose of transportation... Yet the name Nissan embodies a great deal of motorsport, only this was fairly unknown at the time. But what would have been the result of a survey if Nissan had also introduced the sports car presented in this article in Europe? How would Porsche, Ferrari and all the other sports car manufacturers from Central Europe have reacted? Would it have changed Nissan's entire history?

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