Nissan's Unstoppable Beast | The Reign of the R32 Skyline
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- čas přidán 30. 09. 2022
- Today, the Nissan Skyline GTR is so fundamentally baked into fabric of automotive enthusiasm, that its hard to imagine a time before its iconic, boxy shape stirred up emotion and nostalgia the way it does now. But for Nissan in the mid-80s, the reality was that of underperformance, both on the track, and in the sales charts. The marque was floundering, and desperately needed to revive its image, and they saw motorsport as their best shot. This is the story of Godzilla; the Nissan R32 Skyline GTR.
#r32 #racing #jdm - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I remember being a kid in the 90's when my best friend's older brother got Gran Turismo. I still remember him telling me "This is the most dominate car ever" when I asked why he was playing it. Little did I know then.
the r32 is one of the most dominative cars of All time.... Porsche 935/935k3 family would probably be first. e30 m3 is the most race successful and dominantive production model and touring car. 1463 victories in 1628 days...... it actually beat the r32 in a handful of times in Macau and wellington 500. then for prototypes it would be the Porsche 917 family and then 956/962......
@@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo Bmws beat them at Spa 24h twice
too bad BMW sucks nuts at motorsports now :(
Dang pig nose new crap. Such a good engine in the S58... keep the engineers, hire new designers though Bimmer... please. Long live the timeless E46 M3 and the mighty Gee Dee-R
The Alfas 156/155 in all variants dominate much more for years all over Europe.
29 wins in 29 starts, legendary.
It can't be underestimated how important the Australian racing GT-Rs were in the early 90s, because while they're probably not the most well known, the Aussie versions were next level compared to the Japanese versions. Just some fun facts, the team boss of the team running them in Australia had said one time that the Japanese versions would've never won in Australia, so they completely re-engineered basically almost the whole car to become the real godzilla we know today (suspension, wheels, gearbox, clutch, engine, even the cylinder blocks) and could make 700bhp in quali mode. Apparently Nismo got annoyed that the Australian team weren't using their parts, but the Australian manufactured versions were much cheaper and way better in comparison. Also to add to how much better the Aussie GT-R was than the Japanese version, when they received offers to compete in the Fuji 500 and the Macau GP’s touring car race, Nismo vetoed the idea because they knew their version was inferior. A Japanese team that were able to enter even looked into buying an Aussie GT-R to use, but Nismo once again blocked that. Truly a revolutionary bit of machinery was godzilla....
Pretty sure the Nismo boss left Australia with a container full of bits and definitely had holingers phone number written down lol . It must have been a huge kick in the guts for Gary Rogers being blackmailed into not taking the cars overseas . Jim Richards had one of the gtrs at speed on Tweed once , he told me they were good for 780hp in qualifying mode . That's insane for the time . Another interesting thing about that time in the atcc was that more than a few people regarded Dicks Sierra's to be the fastest in the world. The lengths they went to , to beat those Commodores haha
Aussie media name it as such.. Godzilla.. gibson motorsport did a fantastic job.. not nismo… there’s rumours of nismo packed oem stuff.. but was custom made..
Was present at 91 round at Pukekohe NZ...Had Beta Cam with time coded audio pack with mate on boom mic. We must of looked the part as got into pits, got footage under, in Richards/Skaife GTR during pitstops..Saw one at last ever round few weeks ago..best sounding out of all the older tourers 😃
@@boatymcboatface666 me too. Good times. The Volvo V40 sounded best to the other week though.
Man Skaife in the Zilla was wild
The R32 got its nickname via the wheels magazine in Australia which termed it as Godzilla in its review.
I wish touring car racing were more existent in the US.
I always imagined Nissan looked at the Porsche 959 while developing the GT-R R32. In the same way the 959 became Porsche's benchmark for future 911s, the R32 became the halo car Nissan so badly needed to revive the Skyline. Funny how in 1989, Porsche also released the 911 Carrera 4, bringing their AWD system to the 911. This is a small world, when you think about it!
Also congrats on 9k! You're doing justice to these cars man.
The GTR might not look like a traditional supercar, but the 959 really was the closest (road car) to it on track. As you say its not surprising there was a link.
Also, thanks!
Today, no longer. The Porsche of today is the Porsche that made the Carrera GT, with all the pros and cons that come with it.
@@automobilistic hi countreefus! I am damar fadlan from Indonesia. Here again after LoveLive Nijigasaki and Superstars finished their 2nd season anime adaptions!
Good video. As an aside, the Australian Group A GT-R's were largely re-engineered by Gibson Motorsport who ran the Nissan Motorsport team here in Australia; its was NISMO in unofficial name only. So much work was done that the cars were putting out over 700bhp in qualifying trim, and the ATTESA and HICAS systems were largely ditched. Instead, the AWD system was switchable from the drivers cockpit. The Gibson cars were so fast, the legend goes that Nissan politely asked them not to go to Japan to compete at the Fuji 500, out of worry that the local teams would be soundly beaten.
I actually remember watching the Group A races of the era; the R31 raced alongside the R32 for a couple of meetings before both drivers got R32's; Jim Richards and Mark Skaife (who did the development) started destroying the Ford Sierras, BMW M3's and Holden Commodores. The uproar from the press and other drivers was stark; the GT-R virtually killed Group A in Australia and directly led to the V8 Supercars era.
The decision to move to a new formula to replace Group A in Australia was made before the GTR had won its first race. Although at the time it was not clear what that formula might be.
Also worth noting that the RS500 had a greater starts to win percentage in the ATCC (from '88 to '92) than the GTR did from '90 to '92.
How can you race an AWD vehicle with two wheel drive in the same class. I love the GTR but it’s AWD was the key factor in its wins against the Cosworth Sierras and the Commodores in the Australian group A racing.
@@zoranm6432 Back in the nineties four-wheel drive v two-wheel drive was quite common, whether it be the ATCC, DTM BTCC (SuperTouring) or IMSA. The easiest way to balance any advantage is to give the AWD car more weight. For example, the Audi A4 under Super Touring regulations.
@@robossuperchannel9434 Understood, but not enough of a penalty in my opinion, especially in the wet! Not to mention how much better an AWD car is at preserving its tyres compared to a 2 wheel drive car. I remember the Cosworth Sierras were every bit as fast in a straight line as the GTRs.
That's a lie, if you had half a clue you'd know that Group A was dead before the GTR won its first race and ultimately had nothing to do with the culmination of Group 3A touring cars. Look how many full time competitors there were in Group A ATCC versus Group 3A, tells you all you need to know but the state of Australian touring car racing at the time and the mismanagement of Group A.
R32 is the prettiest skyline, with the best story, it's actually the only Skyline I like, this car is absolutely gorgeous.
I think the R32's front end looks a little too much like the Altima's of that era. Never was a fan of that look. I think the R33 looks the classiest. The R34 is my favorite Skyline. My dream car. But, it's really a young guys car. A bit too flashy for the older crowd.
@@shane8915 I kinda don't like R33 and up because they look too bulky, to fat, I like slim, sleek looking cars, like the R32, the RX-7, the Silvia (The S15 is my fav) or the Opel Speedster (or any of it's variant) to cite a western car.
Other than the bulkyness of the new Rs, I like their looks, were they slim like the R32, I would like them for sure.
There is alot more information out there on the r32 in the ATCC. The aussie team ended up fabricating their own parts after racking up a $1,000,000 Bill with nissan. They won the 90, 91 and 92 ATCC with I believe only 3 non 1st finishes that were still podium finishes. It was the Aussies also that gave it the name godzilla after it upended their touring car championship.
Edit: see guy in comments for the proper stats
Not sure where you get you stats from :) but the GTR won 50% of their ATCC starts from Mallala in 1990 to Oran Park in 1992. Off the top of my head they had 13 non 1st finishes during those years.
@@robossuperchannel9434 even still, thats not many.
either way though, it still crushed the competition to the point they banned it
Not many people know this but in Spain there was also an R32 racing on the Spanish Touring Series. Probably as iconic (or even more) as it ran with the Repsol livery. The driver was the ex Formula 1 local driver Luis Perez Sala.
True story.
The Australian built Nissan GT-R that won the 1991 Bathurst 1000 was supposed to then be taken to Fuji for the 500 later that year. However, the boss of NISMO was at Bathurst to see the speed of the Gibson built cars first hand. After what he saw, he "requested" (told) Aussie team boss Fred Gibson keep his cars at home because he feared their speed (with Jim Richards and Mark Skaife doing the driving) would not only wipe the floor with the customer Nissan's in Japan ... but the factory NISMO ones too!!! And that he rightly maintained, was not good for business, even though Gibson's team was actually factory backed as well.
Australian Dick Johnson's team had the reputation of having the fastest Group A Ford Sierra RRS500's in the world. Fred Gibson's team (Gibson Motorsport) easily built the fastest Group A Nissan GT-R R32's in the world.
Australia had the fastest Group A touring cars in the world from 1988-92.
Great video!
Should be worth noting - Gibson Motorsport (the Australian team) test drivers found HICAS massively destablised the rear end under hard cornering and opted to develop the race trim without it. The 1991 Gibson R32 was arguably the fastest car in all of Group A, setting a class speed record of 293km/h down Conrod Straight during qualifying for that year’s Bathurst round.
You should do a video about the monstrous Renault Espace F1, one of the most strange car Renault dare to build
Oooh interesting suggestion! I'll add that to the list
9:04 not really, Gibson Motorsports built their cars locally as Nismo was asking absurd prices for parts. Gibson invited Nismo to bring their Japanese R32s to Australia to compete against their R32s, Nismo refused ;).
Also, Group A racing got out of hand money wise, and the BNR32 was the final nail in the coffin for that category of racing. It did open up the 'Super Tourers' of the 90's (video idea perhaps? Primera, S40/850 wagon, A4, Accord, Vectra, 406, 155, Mondeo etc. etc.)
The aussie nickname for the R32 Skyline was not meant to be funny, it was a genuine compliment to the cars Japanese heritage and unstoppable dominance. I'm sure no joke was intended in calling it Gozilla, nothing but respect.
I was only 7 when the r32 came out, yet it still looks great, still has good specs and in stock form is proven reliable. I don't think that modern cars will prove to the same in 30 years time.
9:36 yo that lakeside raceway, that tracks like 5 minutes from my house sick
Glad i found your channel. Your content is always really good and straight to the point
R33 Skyline Follow-up PLEASE!! That’s my favorite gen of the Skyline 🙌🏾‼️
Man your motorsport videos are quite well made and entertaining, you deserve more than just 9k subs, so you gained another with me.
the GTR really proved that "Win races on sunday, sell cars on monday" worked.
Not as massive an achievement, but the 1983? Nissan bluebird turbo of the fury/gibson motorsport team is an awesome story also
Couldn’t agree more. George Fury really drove the wheels off it. George’s Bluebird qualifying lap record in 1984 Bathurst 1000 stood for a long time (actually still stands, strictly speaking), as it was still the fastest lap when Bathurst was reconfigured to add Caltex Chase. I loved that car even though I’ve been a one-eyed Ford guy all my life.
something to note, Bathhurst 2023, Brad Sheriff's R32 was destroying everyone (until he crashed) - so the legend lives ON!
7:26 rewatching a classic here. I thought I was over this car but the science bits got me. The ripped apart a 959 for R/D, now thats something
Nismo had very little to do with the Australian race version to the point they requested that the Gibson cars not be brought over during an exhibition race as they were so much faster
Yup , they were completely re-engineered and were quicker than what Nismo were doing. Kinda like how DJR built the quickest Sierra’s.
Great stuff….awesome car….do the R33 too please 👍🏻
I wish this video didn't run with the false narrative that the GTR was "banned" to "spare the Fords and Holdens". Group A was already on it's deathbed when the GTR came along - this was just the final nail. And I don't just mean in the Australian Touring Car Championship, but worldwide, with other championships altering or abandoning the ruleset long before the GTR first hit the track. Saying that the ATCC moved away from Group A because Ford and Holden were sick of loosing to the GTR is divisive and disrespectful to Australian race fans (It isn't just you that says this, it's a tired narrative that has been re-hashed many a time over). The ATCC moved on from Group A for the same reason everyone else did - cost, not brand favouritism. Even the Japanese series faced the same fate.
Having said that, great video, really well done and I did enjoy it. Will have a look through your others and look forward to more in the future.
Thanks for this!
I was aware the GTR is an icon, and one of my faves in GT games, but didn't know its history was so interesting. :)
Amazing video! I absolutely love the R32 with the calsonic livery. One thing that always amazed me about this R32 is the amount of camber and how big the wheels seemed to be: I think it was all done to benefit their new 4 wheels steering system.
The long 6 cylinder engine with the front differential made the R32 overly front heavy, the camber was a way to help the steering in corners.
Love the footage of the GTR at the old Amaroo Park
I loved watching JGTC racing in the 90s. One of my uncles introduced me to the Japanese car market with a MK3 Supra Turbo, then a MK4 Turbo in 1993. I remember so mad that we couldn’t have a GTR over here. I graduated high school in 1999 and I was able to find a beautiful 1991 240 SX SE hatchback in Misty Blue with a manual transmission and Super Hicas and bought it as a graduation gift for myself. At the present time, I’ve worked for the same company for 22 years and I’ve been recently promoted leaving me sitting on a nice bonus. I’m planning on buying a 1999 Skyline R34 GTR because it’s the first available to get over here and it’s the year I graduated being beautiful poetry to me.
Something that surely helped the R32 was that it didn’t look like it was made in a box factory. That styling still excites people today.
I remember watching the Godzillas dominating Bathurst when I was a kid. The locals were fed up with the Commodores and Falcons being beaten, and the infamous 1992 race is now part of motor racing folklore. Sitting on the couch, 10 years old, and watching the fallout from the red-flagged race conclusion, and Jim Richards gives the crowd a piece of his mind. It certainly caught my attention.
Didn't help that Denny Hulme, good friend of JR, passed during the race.
I was actually there at Bathurst that year.
The crowd reaction wasn't because of the brand of the car. Plenty on non Fords and Holdens had won Bathurst before.
The crowd were pissed off because the car that "won" was a wreck lying on the side of the track with a wheel torn off. And the Johnson Sierra had gone past it on the track.
So most of the crowd which turned up at the presentation were expecting Dick Johnson to be announced the winner.
Anyway the GT-R certainly became the "category killer", being basically a purpose built race car racing against performance versions of family cars.
The history of Japanese motoring never fails to intrigue me. ❤
Yet another cracking vid, you are the definition of an underated channel
I think a follow up focusing on Nissan’s rise to dominance in IMSA during this period would be good to explore. With the Group C GTP-ZX, 300ZXTT, and 240SX dominating their respective classes in the early 90s.
Yeah, the 300ZX ran by Cunningham Racing kicked ass. It even won the Daytona 24 hours overall in '94.
I remember when someone ask "why that car is everywhere?". I told her: "Do you know Mustang? yes? well! this is the same but for Japan. And they love it too, me as well."
The R32 was basically the car someone with racing passion can afford, tune and racing on weekend. And even if doesn't race, still an imposing car, a car who scream RAW power, who scream: "i will eat you alive and there is nothing you can do about it". A car who put Nissan back in the map in the 90s. A car people might see underwhelming compared with others, but a car who at the time was affordable and now days is literally invaluable (no, seriously, any variant of an R32, specially GT R, in prestine condition is very expensive).
There were also plans for the R32 to be in the BTCC, but rules had changed in 1989 so it never saw a British race, sadly.
The R31 was in BTCC in 1988 though, but wasn’t quite as competitive.
Very cool video, recently found your channel and Im loving the content. Keep up the good work!
Wonderful documentary of triumph against all adversity, will always remember their win against the mighty Ford's and Holden's at Bathurst with rain master Jim Richards at the helm and Skaif of the original Godzilla .🌴🇫🇯🌹🇦🇺👍😎
Oh that background music love it.
That Reebok livery looks so cool. Crazy to think the number blue #12 Calsonic liveried car is still in Super GT, although on a Z car this year.
Loving all the refreshed interest in the Group A R32's lately, great video :)
Absolutely cracking video, now watched them all and really enjoy seeing and hearing about the cars I remember from GT2 👌
This could be a series on the whole GT-R lineup
Please do more videos for the R33 and R34!
Almost 10k subs mate!!! Congrats! Keep up the great videos. Cheers!
Man Im so pumped to see this channel grow
Awesome car. Fantastic video series you are making. Keep up the good work.
The skyline singlehandedly secured Nissans place in the modern automotive arena.
Great Story so well presented ! Thank you ! =)
greetings from germany
Thank you very much for this awesome video!! Nissan Nismo #1!!!!!!!!
Fun note, I’m pretty sure Nismo were thinking about even rallying the R32. However, it’s weight was seen as too great a factor so the team went with the Pulsar GTI-R
Oh really? That would have made Tomi become another famous r32 driver lol
I'm binging your videos. Informarive yet enjoyable. Love it.
Great video as always. youre really underated i bet youre gonna hit 10k this week
One of the best cars ever made imo, love R32,33,34 GTR's, another great video 👍
Dude, you're absolutely rocking with these videos, keep em coming. Great narration and perfect sound editing as well!
Thanks! Glad you like them!
Pleasant surprise to wake up to another banger vid this morning👍
Immediate subscription after hearing GT2 bgm
Well done on nailing the history of the R32 GTR.
I was lucky enough to see the Gibson motorsport one race in Wellington New Zealand. My favorite group A car.
Great vid man, keep it up and youll get huge for sure
instant subscribe - great channel, investigation and narration!
He doesn’t miss! Another great video keep it up.
Thanks!!
The design for that cancelled supercar you mentioned from the picture looks like if the Ferrari Testarossa and the original Honda NSX had a baby
a new sub here, just stopped by after binge-watching your videos. you make hell of a job with your videos and storytelling man, keep it up!
Really glad you're enjoying the videos! Plenty more on the way...
This is such an exquisite video
Fantastic Video!!!!
They also did a win in the hardest and coolest street circuit racing of Macau.
Excellent story,they're always great.💯👌🏻✌🏻
this channel is a hidden gem
this is why the r32 is a dream car fr
We demand a follow up! Such a beast, love it!
In it's heyday the R32 is so unbeatable imagine the nightmares, the sleepless nights their competitors had.
Proud to finally own one.
The only thing I remember about this car is the amazing brakes in GT4 😂
R31 was no slouch, it just didnt have awd and all the engineering bespoke to the BNR32 chassis. Great video.
legendary car!
There should be a Ford v Ferrari type of movie made about Godzilla and Nissan's historical comeback from near extinction. What a great story for sure.
Nissan for life
man i love the r30 2000gt’s and rs-x’s, honestly some of my favourite looking cars from nissan
I remember the R32 kicking ars here in Australia in the day,loved it 👍👍
Finally. A Video that explains how the GTR got its Godzilla nickname.
Second video of yours or maybe my third but you got my subscription.
Great vid, would love to hear you cover the history of the 787b too!
czcams.com/video/wKJuxgL1-wA/video.html there you go, he done it
My favourite body of the GT-R.
Your videos are fantastic
Nice Content!!
This is awesome
I would like to see a video on the Subaru Impreza 22B and why it was so successful and awe-inspiring as well
Subscribing to this channel 👌
I driven this car in Assetto Corsa. It was a Godzilla for both the opponents driving against and myself driving it
I hate this channel doesn't grow, the videos are so good and got nothing else but topical stuff in them :(
COOL STORY BRO!
Thank you for this!
ALL HAIL GODZILLA!
I love the Gran Turismo music
R32 > R34 and R35. Nissan will never top the R32 IMO.
Good stuff👍👍
God, that Gran Turismo 2 music is a huge nostalgia hit. It was my first racing game and where I discovered the Skyline... been my dream car ever since.
Another banger video
"Bar thirst" 🤣