Nissan Skyline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nissan Skyline - Essay Example In 1954 the two companies were merged together. (http://history.jbskyline.net/). The Nissan Skyline is an intermediate-size automobile range sold in Japan and other countries. It is available in either coupe or sedan body styles, and is sold in North America, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Middle East as the Infiniti G35. The first Skyline under the Prince marque was marketed as a luxury car. It featured a 1.5 L (1482 cc) GA-4 engine producing 60 hp (44 kW). It used a de Dion tube rear suspension and was capable of 87 mph (140 km/h). The car weighed around 1,300 kg. Prince Skylines were produced as four door sedans and five door station wagons. Apart from the sedan the Skyline also spawned pickup truck and van lines called the "Prince Skyway." The model with quad headlights appeared in 1957, powered by the same 1.5L engine. Its production went on through 1961. After Fuji Precision Industries changed its name to Prince the S50 series was launched. This second generation car soon became one of the most popular cars in Asia. It was powered by the G-1 engine, a 70 hp (52 kW) version of the old GA-4. A 1,862 cm engine was also available, delivering 91 hp. In 1962, this model was restyled as the S21S series (Pinker 1990). New styling for S50 became available in 1963. In 1966 after the merge of Nissan and Prince the S50 came out with Nissan Skyline marking. This model lasted in production through 1967, featuring hand-built Michelotti bodies in elegant coupe and convertible versions. These cars used the 1.9 L (1862 cc) GB-30 engine, producing 83 hp (61 kW). In mid-60s Prince created a racing GT Skyline. It was basically a variation of the S54 featuring the larger 6-cylinder G-7 engine from the Gloria S40, though the engine compartment needed modification to fit that long engine. Prince had high hopes for winning the 2nd Japanese Grand Prix with their new vehicle. Competing against the Porsche 904, the Skyline managed 2nd through to 6th places. After the success of the GT Skyline another version, Prince 2000GT was released to the Japanese market. In February 1969 the first GT-R Skyline came out. Nicknamed the Hakosuka amongst fans, it used the new 2.0 L (1998 cc) S20 I6 engine which produced 160 hp (119 kW), being therefore equal to the top sports cars of the time i.e. Nissan R380 racing car with its GR8 engine. First GT-R's were sedans, but a 2-door coupe version came out in March of 1971. To make the cars as light as possible for racing purposes the designers have stripped them of unnecessary equipment thus showing prominent results on track such as 33 victories of the sedan in less than two years and the 50 victories of the coupe in 1972. This GT-R is said to have been a competitor of Mazda's third rotary engine machine, the RX-3, and it is said that the two cars performed a desperate effort for victory at the circuits. The GT-R was also a favorite of wild street racers who roamed the streets at night at that time. It is claimed that the art of drifting began among Japanese racers when they purposely engaged their emergenc y brakes as a way to counter understeer on their GT-Rs. One of the most famous Japanese drifters was the Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya (http://history.jbskyline.net/). New GT-ES came out with a turbocharged engine, the L20ET, which was the first turbo engine to power a Japanese-manufactured vehicle. Turbo versions had no intercooler and no blowoff valve installed until the R32 powered with the