The Nissan Motor Company, often shortened as “Nissan,” is of Japanese origin and was founded on the 26th of December, 1933 under the Nissan Group. It is a multinational automobile manufacturing company that produces luxurious vehicles, commercial vehicles, forklift trucks, and outboard motors.
It sells under the Nissan, Datsun, and Infiniti brands. It was co-founded by Masujiro Hashimoto, Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama, Meitaro Takeuchi, Yoshisuke Aikawa, and William R. Gorham and had active operations in every country of the world.
Let's now take a closer look at one of the brand's best rides, the '89 Skyline GT-R.
The 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R
The Nissan Skyline GT-R is called “Nissan Sukairain GT-R" in Japanese and is a race car series produced by the Nissan brand. The name “Skyline” originates from Prince Motor Company that was initially running its operations exclusively until the Skyline series of sedans were sold, and then the brand was merged with Nissan-Datsun.
The 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R was creatively designed by Nagonori Ito in 1986, assembled at Musashimurayama, Japan, and was in production from August 1989 till November 1994. It came in the variants of two body styles; the 4-door sedan and the 2-door coupe. Its layout consists of a front-engine, rear-wheel drive coupled with a front-engine, four-wheel drive.
Under Japanese legislation, the Nissan Skyline GT-R (1989) was considered as a “compact” because of its exterior dimensions that surged up the amount of tax liability that had to be paid on it. This was what led to Nissan making provision for smaller engines so that options could be available to choose whichever one a buyer can afford. There was a total of 43,934 units created throughout its production.
Exterior
On the outside, the Nissan Skyline looks very rigid, especially in its coupe body style variant. It is one of the few cars that has no-rust tendencies, and with careful maintenance, lasts for years without a retouch or parts replacement. Apart from the flashy exterior, there are other exterior additions like R34 emblems, front bumper vents, and N1 headlights.
Interior
The inner part of the vehicle is also plated in luxury, with this interior been as flawless as the outer parts and the engine bay. It also comes with a Nardi steering wheel that provides a hint of a race car rather than when compared with a tame interior.
Engine
The engine that comes with this vehicle is a 2.6-liter twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve which offers 276 hp, 260 Ib-ft of torque and a 15-gallon fuel cell with sump; the Bosch 0.044 fuel pump is also an aero motive fuel pressure regulator.
Two Competitors
The Skyline has made a name for itself as Japan’s most celebrated speed and performance car. This is even more buttressed by a total of over 200 race wins, as well as its success in winning five championships consecutively. However, with the level of success that the Skyline has recorded, it is still worth noting that there are a few cars that stand a chance to compete with these uncommon feats.
Some of these notable rivals are:
1989 Acura Legend Coupe
Luxury is the selling point of the Acura legend coupe; most people described the car as a “leather-lined luxury”. It was powered by a fuel-injected, 24-valve V-g coupled with 160 hp. Its speed and torque were also quite remarkable, and it is clearly a car that delivers value for money. It was one of the cars that could compete favorably with the Skyline GT-R during its production years.
1989 Chevrolet Corvette
High-class performance singles out the Chevrolet Corvette from its contemporaries. It also has quite impressive handling and braking as well. Its specifications are quite mouthwatering for anyone looking for a car that saves money and has a high-performance level.
Price Of 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R
At its inception, the selling price of the Nissan Skyline was around $31,000 - $35,000. However, major auction sites have this car at around $29,000 to $45,000. This is broadly speaking a notable amount of appreciation (if we look at the averages, we're talking about an appreciation of roughly 12% over the past thirty plus years).
Of course, how much you'd find a Skyline GT-R for now will depend on many factors such as the quality and mileage of the vehicle in question.
Conclusion
From its aerodynamics to speed, body rigidity, and performance, this vehicle has all the desired features of a race car. In fact, it is recognized as one of the cars with the best performances across the globe as a sedan sports car.
The Skyline GT-R has been able to record victories totaling 29 without any defeat over four seasons of the famous Japan Touring Car Championship from 1990 to 1993. It is also recognized in Spain and France as one of the best Nissan models to hit their respective markets.
In all, it is an easily recommendable car. The vehicle boasts of a healthy blend and balance when it comes to speed and performance, and there is no gainsaying that it is every car lover’s dream car. That was true at the time it was launched and remains so even years after its production.