Japanese automotive companies are popular for making high-performance machines, but over the decades, no car has been able to top the Nissan GT-R. Over the years, the amazing model has undergone several changes and refinements to become the car we all love and drive today.
The Nissan GT-R Hakosuka was the first Nissan to carry the prestigious three-letter badge, which is now known as a synonym for speed. The car had a high-revving six-cylinder engine and incredible handling. The combination of those two features made the Hakosuka fierce on the track.
For decades, huge sports car enthusiasts have been collecting classic speed machines. Popular vehicles from the '70s and '80s have been a good investment, and these cars include Japanese sports cars. A number of old GT-R automobiles, including the Hakosuka, have been popping in auctions with skyrocketing prices.
Let's learn more about this amazing vehicle and why it's so expensive today.
A Brief History Of The Hakosuka
Originally, Prince Motor Company produced the Skyline. They began manufacturing the vehicle in 1957 and merged with Nissan in 1966. Nissan decided to continue making Skyline models, and in 1968, their first car made its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show. The four-door sedan was named the "Skyline GT-R". Later in March 1971, the company decided to introduce a short-wheelbase two-door coupe variant.
The famous letters "GT-R" stand for Gran Turismo racer. These letters helped Nissan boost sales due to the growing popularity of western naming conventions. The term Hakosuka came from Nissan customers in Japan. It's a combination of the "Hako," which means box, and "suka," which is the Japanese pronunciation of Skyline.
Nissan made the GT-R in order to win races, and the results couldn't have been better. The GT-R went on to battle vehicles like the Mazda Capella and Savanna RX3, and it managed to rack up many victories. The Hakosuka model managed to break the RX3 record in a short period. When the car retired in 1972, it was recognized as a legend because of its dominance in Japanese motorsport.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R Hakosuka Has A Classic And Simple Design
The Hakosuka has a traditional and understated appearance. From a distance, the automobile resembles the Datsun 510 or the BMW 2002, but when you get closer, you'll see the subtle differences that set it apart from those two vehicles.
The front fascia and windows have chrome outlines, and the designers mounted the side-view mirrors ahead of the front axle. Although the Hakosuka doesn't really need to be wider because of the placement of fender flares in the rear, the perceived breadth of the vehicle is increased by a lower character crease.
The trunk lid has a wing spoiler in the back, while the bumper and taillight surrounds have additional chrome. On the left, there are polished dual exhaust tips. For the finish, Watanabe offers its iconic wheel design.
The Hakosuka's interior is pleasant, although the back seats are a little cramped. The designers used rich materials throughout, including leather upholstery and wood dash trim. A sizable tachometer, speedometer, and four auxiliary gauges make up the instrument cluster's functionality.
The Hakosuka Has A Humble Look, But Its Performance Makes It Look Fierce
Nissan GT-Rs have a tradition of having absolutes beasts under the hood. The Hakosuka started this trend with the S20. There's also a 2.0-liter inline six-cylinder with double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, a crossflow cylinder head, hemispherical combustion chambers, and triple side-draft carburetors.
Engineers from Prince Motor Company were responsible for making the famous S20. It's based on the GR-8, a 2.0-liter high-performance unit used on the R380 race car, which helped lend credibility to the GT-R's sporting intentions.
The engine produced 160 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 131 pound-feet of torque at 5,600 rpm. The car also has a five-speed manual transmission that sends power to the rear axle.
One might ask, with all that power, wouldn't the Hakosuka need a good handling system to keep it in check? Well, the Nissan engineers thought ahead and put a sophisticated four-wheel independent suspension set-up to help the car beat any competition on the track.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R Hakosuka's Price And Why It’s So High Priced
The vehicle had an MSRP of $14,140, making it one of the priciest models Nissan released at the time. The company limited the production to 2000 units; out of those, 800 were four-door models, and 1200 were two-door models.
Currently, the Hakosuka is a collector's item, which is why it's so expensive. Back in 2014, a 1972 two-door model sold for $220,000 at the RM Sotheby's auction in Monterey. Another 1971 two-door model sold for around $125,000 to $175,000 at the 2016 Classic Driver auction in Bedford Hills.