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Skyline 2000GT (S54 Series) - Nissan Skyline
Birth of a legend In 1964 Prince started an attempt to go into racing. For this purpose the S 50’s wheel base was extended by cutting the car off in front of the fire wall and adding an extra 8 inches of panel work to make a 6 cylinder engine fit in. Consequently, the G7 engine, a 1988ccm OHC inline 6 from the upper class S 40 Gloria model, was installed to the car. In the beginning only a small number of this car were built to homologate it for GT-class racing, but since it proved very popular, Prince decided to put it into full production.

The resulting car was called the S 54 series or the Skyline 2000GT and came in two versions. The GT-A used an unchanged version of the G7 engine with only a single carburetor and 105hp. The GT-B on the other hand got a 5 speed close ratio gearbox, full instrumentation, a limited slip differential, power brakes, a 99 liter fuel tank and a high com-pression version of the G7 with triple 40DCOE-18 Weber carbu- retors and 125hp.

Both featured disc brakes with twin piston calipers up front and alloy finned drum-brakes at the rear. Later models even had flow through ventilation with small eye ball vents added to the dashboard. Of both, the GT-B was finally the one to be used for racing. It finished 2nd in its first race, the 2nd GP of Japan in 1964 and almost won against the victorious Porsche 904GTS, which was a pure race car.

This was an incredible achievement considering that the Skyline was a 4-door sedan. The S 54 series was continued until 1968 and with its many race victories laid the foundation for the Skyline legend.

The 1500 series - Nissan Skyline
The 1500 series replaced the S 50 in July 1968 and was built until 1972. It came in 4-door sedan and wagon form with the G15 engine from the S57.The same car was also available as the 1800 with the G18 engine. These cars were mostly using Prince parts and were the last Skylines to be released with the Prince badge, all following Skylines were to be renamed Nissan Skyline.

The Skyline 2000GT (GC-10 series) - Nissan Skyline
Just like all other cars of the C10 series, the GC 10 (G standing for GT) was basically planned by Prince, but was named Nissan Skyline 2000GT. It was introduced in 1968 (2 months after the 1500) and first came in 4 door sedan (GC10) and 5 door van versions and from 1970 on also with 2-doors (KGC10). The car was almost the same as the preceding S 54 GT-A model, so it featured a 6-cylinder engine instead of the previously common 4 cylinder. The Skyline 2000GT got the L20 engine, a 1998ccm OHC inline-6 with 105hp.

The Skyline 2000GT-R (PGC-10 series) - Nissan Skyline
1968 had seen the introduction of a basic Skyline (the 1500 series) and a model comparable to the previous GT-A (the GC10 series). But people were still eagerly awaiting a replacement for the GT-B. Almost a year passed after the introduction of the new model range, until finally in February 1969 the new GT-R sedan came along. The Skyline 2000GT-R was powered by the S20 engine, a 1998ccm DOHC inline-6, producing 160hp - that was as strong as the Porsche 911 of that time.

This engine was basically the same like the GR8 from Nissan’s R 380 racecar, which won the 3rd GP of Japan in 1966 against a Porsche Carrera 6. Since it was intended for racing, the PGC10 (P stood for Prince) was very lightweight inside, without a heater or radio, but from the outside almost looked like any other 4-door sedan. Even though, after over two years, the coupe-version of the GT-R (KPGC-10) was introduced in March 1971. A shorter wheel-base and less weight made for a better maneuverability in comparison to the 4-door version and made this car even more unbeatable on the circuit. The Skyline 2000GT-R lived up to the racing heritage from its predecessors and the sedan scored 33 victories in those one-and-a-half years it raced, which was extended to 50 victories by the KPGC-10, until its production was stopped in 1972. The Skyline had become a Legend after all.