Back in 1989, Nissan was competing in Group A Racing with the Skyline GTS-R. Nissan’s motorsport arm, Nismo, wanted to retire the racecar in favour of a more competitive machine, which would be based on the newly designed E-BNR32 chassis (better known as R32).
The R32 Group A Skyline was to have a 2350cc inline-6 turbocharged engine, producing 313bhp sent to the rear wheels. But under Group A regulations, a turbo engine’s displacement was “multiplied” by 1.7, putting the R32 Skyline racer in the 4000cc class, which required the use of 10-inch-wide tyres. Hence, Nismo made the decision to develop a special motorsport-oriented all-wheel-drive system called ATTESA E-TS.
It greatly aided traction, but added 100kg to the dry weight and put it at a disadvantage in any race. This prompted Nismo to increase the 6-cylinder’s displacement to 2600cc and put the R32 racecar in the 4500cc class, where the car’s weight was almost the same as that of other competing cars.
That new 2.6-litre powerplant, which generates 276bhp and 368Nm, went into production along with the all-wheel-drive, the HICAS four-wheel-steering system and a 5-speed manual gearbox. The model was the legendary R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R.
An initial batch of 5000 street-legal units was needed for homologation of the racecar version. However, following much critical acclaim by the motoring media, coupled with heavy consumer demand for the car, Nissan put the R32 GT-R into regular production.
Over 43,000 R32 GT-Rs were built between 1989 and 1994, with an above-average proportion specified in white. This was likely due to white being the national racing colour of Japan in international motorsports.
