Nissan Skyline S50 (1963–1968)

Where it started: the ALSI of 1957

The first Skyline was presented on 24 April 1957 at the Takarazuka Theatre in Hibiya, Tokyo, by Fuji Precision Industries, the company that later took the Prince name. Nissan's heritage collection describes it as the successor to the Prince Sedan, with an American-influenced body, chrome side mouldings and small tail fins.

Its engineering was more ambitious than its styling. The ALSI used a De Dion rear axle and two-speed wipers, and Nissan says its 1.5-litre engine gave it the highest top speed of any Japanese car of its day. The GA30 four produced 44 kW (60 PS) at 4,400 rpm and 105 Nm (77 lb-ft); the Deluxe saloon weighed 1,310 kg (2,888 lb). A 1.9-litre GB4 four, shared with the Prince Gloria, arrived in 1961, and quad headlamps were added from 1960.

The most glamorous version was the Skyline Sport, a coupé and convertible designed by Giovanni Michelotti and shown at the 1960 Turin motor show. Nissan calls it Japan's first domestic luxury sports coupé. It used the 1,862 cm³ (113.6 cu in) GB4 with 69 kW (94 PS) and reached 150 km/h (93 mph), but English Wikipedia says only a few hundred were made. The ALSI family, including estates and the Skyway pickups, ended in 1963 after 33,759 cars.

The catalogue lists the ALSI as a separate generation; it does not have its own page yet, so this section serves as its summary.

The S50: a smaller Skyline with a monocoque body

The second Skyline, launched in September 1963, was a different kind of car. Nissan's heritage notes say it moved the line from a full-size saloon to a compact family car, built around a monocoque body and designed to need little routine attention. Its "sealed" engine was guaranteed maintenance-free for up to 40,000 km (24,855 miles) or two years, the chassis needed no periodic greasing, and the dashboard used what Nissan describes as the world's first non-reflective instruments.

The first car was the S50D Deluxe. A cheaper Standard, aimed at taxi operators, followed in April 1964, and a five-door estate and a van completed the range. Gearboxes were a three-speed column-change manual, a four-speed floor change on the Deluxe from February 1965 and, from June 1966, a two-speed automatic.

English Wikipedia divides the S50 into three series. The S50-2 of October 1966 had a new grille and rectangular tail lamps, and the S50-3 of 1967 widened the lamps again. From August 1966, after Nissan took over Prince, the cars were sold as the Nissan Prince Skyline. In export markets, including Europe, the saloon was offered as the Prince Mikado A150, according to the same source.

For the generations that followed, from the Hakosuka to the V37, see the complete Nissan Skyline overview.

S54 and the 1964 Japan Grand Prix

The S54 began as a racing project. For the second Japan Grand Prix in May 1964, Prince fitted the 2.0-litre G7 straight-six from the Gloria Super 6 into the Skyline. To make room for it, the front was lengthened by 200 mm (7.9 in), taking the wheelbase from 2,390 mm (94.1 in) to 2,590 mm (102.0 in). One hundred homologation cars were built; English Wikipedia splits them into 92 road cars and 8 race cars, coded S54A-1.

In the GT-II race on 3 May 1964, a Porsche 904 won, and Skyline GTs took the next five places. The result gave the long-nosed Skyline a sporting reputation at home and set the pattern for every later Skyline GT: a family saloon body carrying a six-cylinder engine developed for racing.

2000GT-A and 2000GT-B

Road-going production followed. The S54B-2, sold as the Skyline 2000GT and later known as the 2000GT-B, arrived in February 1965 with three Weber 40DCOE carburettors, 92 kW (125 PS) at 5,600 rpm and 167 Nm (123 lb-ft) at 4,400 rpm. Nissan says it reached 180 km/h (112 mph), making it one of the fastest Japanese saloons of the time. The chassis was reinforced, front disc brakes and front and rear anti-roll bars were fitted, and the catalogue called it "a wolf in sheep's skin".

The cheaper S54A-2, or 2000GT-A, followed in September 1965 with a single carburettor, about 77–79 kW (105–107 PS), and without the GT-B's front discs, brake servo and Nardi steering wheel. German Wikipedia lists a four-speed gearbox for the GT-A and a five-speed for the GT-B.

S50 and S54 engines

The table lists the S50 and S54 engines. Outputs are rated figures in kW followed by the metric PS figure; German Wikipedia quotes slightly higher SAE gross values.

The G15 that replaced the G1 in the S57 was an overhead-camshaft four with 88 PS, which English Wikipedia describes as the most powerful engine in Japan's 1,500 cm³ class at the time. It later carried over into the C10.

Dimensions of the S50 and 2000GT

The table compares the 1965 Skyline 1500 Deluxe (S50) with the 1965 2000GT (S54B-2), both from the Nissan Heritage Collection.

Brakes and running gear

These cars predate crash testing by decades, so the relevant safety facts concern hardware. The 2000GT-B had double-wishbone front suspension, leaf springs at the rear, front discs and rear drums, with anti-roll bars at both ends. The 2000GT-A went without the front discs and brake servo, which is the clearest mechanical difference to check when telling the two sixes apart.

Which Prince Skyline to look for

• S54B 2000GT-B: the triple-carburettor six with front discs, the version most closely tied to the 1964 race result.
• S54A 2000GT-A: the single-carburettor six, cheaper when new and simpler to keep running.
• S54A-1 Skyline GT (1964): one of only 100 homologation cars, so provenance is everything.
• S50 and S57 saloons: the four-cylinder family cars, with the 88 PS G15 of the S57 the livelier choice.
• ALSI Skyline Sport: the Michelotti coupé and convertible, built only in small numbers.

The history of Nissan Motor Company covers the Prince merger in more depth, and the classic cars of the 1950s collection and the Nissan catalogue put the ALSI in context with its contemporaries among Japanese cars.