20/12/2023
The very first ‘Skyline GT-R’ side by side with a Nissan R380-III at the Yatabe Circuit, 1969
The Skyline GT-R was meant to be a race car since the very beginning of all. The C10 generation of the Nissan Skyline was the first to endorse the iconic badge, yet with the 4-door model in 1969.
Just a few months after the production model popping up in all the Nissan Prince dealerships over the Japanese territory, the race car debuted. This was literally part of the tradition of every single GT-R generation.
During that era, Nissan was active in local sports car racing with the R380 series - and much like the Skyline, it was a car built and manufactured by Prince Motor Company, but with the takeover by Nissan, they’ve become Nissan-built/manufactured and Prince was transformed into a sort of subsidiary.
And what these two have in common besides the Prince -> Nissan rebadges? That’s because the engine of this prototype was taken to give power to the all-new Nissan’s sports car Skyline GT-R. The R380 GR-8 2.0L 4valve 6cyl engine was transformed into the S20 for the PGC10 (sedan) and KPGC10 (hardtop). Both the cars were also promoted alongside each other. One for showing the Nissan’s capacity on racing scene, and the other for promoting its new sports car with the legendary Red emblem into the streets.
And then we have this awesome shot right here taken from the time where the R380-III was being used for speed records and the Skyline GT-R was making its physical debut.
The place where this photo was taken is the Yatabe Circuit, a 5.5km facility widely known for its speed test & records - it’s here where manufacturers tested their speed traps and Keiichi Tsuchiya ’s squad or even brought some of the best race and professionally-tuned cars to do what they can do in the straight line. The site/facility was demolished in 2008.
📸 NISMO
