Nissan Skyline R32 (1989–1993)

What the R32 changed after the R31

The R31 had been offered as a saloon, hardtop, coupé and estate. The R32 cut that list down: the estate and the conventional four-door saloon were dropped, and only two bodies remained, a coupé and a four-door pillared hardtop. Wikipedia notes that an estate did not return until the separate Stagea of 1996.

The engine line-up was rationalised around the RB inline six, which the R31 had introduced. A 1.8-litre CA18i four stayed at the bottom of the range, but every other R32 had six cylinders. Most versions were sold with HICAS, Nissan's hydraulically linked rear-wheel steering, in the improved Super HICAS form on sportier trims.

The biggest news was the GT-R badge. The last one had been the C110 of 1973. Japanese Wikipedia describes the BNR32 as the culmination of Nissan's "901 activity", an internal development programme of the late 1980s. The GT-R was announced on 22 May 1989 and went on sale on 21 August 1989.

For the full 13-generation story, from the Prince original to the V37, see the complete Nissan Skyline overview.

Coupé, saloon and the wider GT-R body

The R32 coupé measured 4,530 mm (178.3 in) and the saloon 4,580 mm (180.3 in), both 1,695 mm (66.7 in) wide. Wikipedia notes that this kept them in Japan's "compact" class, where road tax depended on exterior dimensions. The GT-R stood apart with flared wings that took the width to 1,755 mm (69.1 in) and a length of 4,545 mm (178.9 in).

The GT-R ran on dedicated 16-inch forged alloy wheels, and Brembo brake calipers were reserved for the late V-spec models. A driver airbag became an option in the August 1991 update, according to the Japanese Wikipedia entry.

RB engines and the ATTESA E-TS GT-R

The table lists the main Japanese-market engines. Outputs are the manufacturer's rated figures in kW, followed by the metric PS figure used in Japan.

Gearboxes were a five-speed manual, a four-speed automatic and, on the 2.5-litre, a five-speed automatic. The rare Autech GTS-4 saloon was automatic only, and 201 were made.

The RB26DETT was developed for the GT-R. It has a bore and stroke of 86 × 73.7 mm and two parallel turbochargers with ceramic turbine wheels. Officially it gave 280 PS. Wikipedia says the real figure was about 320 PS, and that Nissan quoted the lower number because Japanese manufacturers had a "gentlemen's agreement" not to advertise more than 280 PS.

ATTESA E-TS is the other half of the story. In normal driving the GT-R is mainly rear-wheel drive; when the rear wheels start to slip, the system sends torque forward to the front axle. Super HICAS adds a small amount of rear-wheel steering. German Wikipedia lists a five-speed Getrag manual for the GT-R and quotes 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds.

R32 GT-R dimensions and weights

The table shows the BNR32 GT-R. Wheelbase is taken from the generation data on auto-data.net and matches the step to the R33 recorded on Japanese Wikipedia.

For comparison, Wikipedia gives rear-wheel-drive R32s a weight range of 1,120 to 1,380 kg (2,469 to 3,042 lb).

Group A and the touring-car record

The GT-R was built to win Group A touring-car races, and it did. In the Japanese Touring Car Championship it won all 29 races it entered and took every title from 1990 to 1993. It won the Macau Guia Race in 1990, the Spa 24 Hours in 1991 and the Bathurst 1000 in Australia in 1991 and 1992. The Australian press gave it the nickname "Godzilla".

In the Japanese N1 Super Taikyu production series, the GT-R is credited with 50 wins from 50 starts between 1991 and 1997, with the R33 taking over in the later seasons. On the road, the Japanese magazine Best Motoring lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 8:22.38 in a 1989 test on a partly wet track.

The car's four-wheel-drive twin-turbo layout invites comparison with the Porsche 959, which had used the same two ideas a few years earlier.

Safety equipment

The R32 predates modern crash testing. It was replaced before Euro NCAP published its first results in 1997, and no independent crash-test rating for it was found in the sources checked for this page. Safety equipment was basic by later standards: according to Japanese Wikipedia, a driver airbag was only an option from August 1991. The Nismo homologation car even had its ABS removed, because it was not allowed in Group A at the time.

Which R32 to look for

Skylines, and the GT-R in particular, make up a large share of used Japanese imports to Europe and North America, so the version and history of each car matter more than the trim name. In the United States, the R32 became eligible for import in August 2014 under the 25-year rule.

• GT-R (1989–1994): the standard car on 16-inch wheels, about 44,000 built in total.
• GT-R Nismo (1990): 560 homologation cars with an aluminium bonnet and front panels, all in Gun Grey Metallic.
• GT-R N1 (from 1991): 245 built as bases for production-car racing.
• GT-R V-spec (1993) and V-spec II (1994): Brembo brakes, retuned ATTESA E-TS and 17-inch BBS wheels; 1,396 and 1,306 built.
• GTS-t: the rear-wheel-drive turbo with 158 kW (215 PS), a lighter and simpler car than the GT-R.
• GTS-4: the same turbo engine with all-wheel drive, in coupé or saloon form.

To see the R32 alongside other Japanese cars, the Nissan model catalogue and the background in the history of Nissan are good starting points.