The year is 1984, and it’s a significant year in Nissan’s history. Aside from the world premiere of the z31 Fairlady Z, the Japanese formally established its in-house motorsports division, Nismo.
This year marks the Nismo’s 40th anniversary, and what a ride it has been. To celebrate this significant milestone, let’s take a quick look back at the cars that defined it.
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Nismo: A quick history
Nismo’s roots can be traced all the way back to the late ‘50s. Nissan first entered motorsports in 1958, winning the Australia Trial, Class A with a humble Datsun 210. By the early ‘60s, it then used the first-generation Fairlady, winning the Japanese Grand Prix in 1963.
In 1964, Nissan fielded a model called the Prince Skyline to compete in the Japanese Grand Prix that year, and made a purpose-built race car the following year with the R380. Nissan later absorbed the Prince Motor Corporation, taking several nameplates including, you guessed it, the Skyline.
Throughout the ‘60s to the early ‘80s, Nissan would use a wide array of race cars for both circuit and rally stages. There were Skylines, Silvias, Bluebirds, Zs, along with prototypes such as the R381 and R382. By 1984, with Nismo established, Nissan’s motorsport program went full steam ahead.
The first Nismo road car: 1987 Nissan Skyline GTS-R
For road cars, the Nismo story begins with the R31 Nissan Skyline. No, this isn’t Godzilla just yet, and it wasn’t even called the GT-R just yet. Its full name was the Nissan Skyline GTS-R, and it would serve as the basis for the company’s Group A touring car.
The specs seem mild by today’s standards with ‘just’ 210hp and 245Nm of torque. But in an era where 150hp was good enough for an executive sedan, the GTS-R had healthy figures for its day. Only 823 units were built.
1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo
Of course, Nismo inevitable got its hands on the R32 Skyline GT-R. Like the GTS-R, this one was built with competition in mind as it was a homologation special. So, what did the in-house tuning firm do to it?
Nismo gave it larger turbochargers and did tweaks to the suspension. It also went on a weight saving diet, and got unique bumpers and spoilers that was to be used in the race car. On top of that, it came packing with cross-drilled disc brakes on all corners, and anti-lock brakes were deleted to comply with homologation rules. The GT-R Nismo is even rarer than the GTS-R with only 560 built.
1994 Nismo 270R
We’ll take a break from all the Skylines and show you a Nismo-fied Nissan Silvia. Dubbed the 270R, it was built to commemorate Nismo’s tenth anniversary. It’s the holy grail of Silvias and to see one in the wild is a once in a blue moon moment.
The 270 bit of the name refers to the horsepower output of the car. While 270hp doesn’t sound like a lot these days, but do remember that cars in the ‘90s were much lighter than they are these days. It also had upgraded suspension, a two-way limited slip differential, and an aero kit, just to nae a few. How rare is it, you ask? How does 30 units sound to you?
1996 Nismo 400R
Okay, back to Skyline GT-Rs. Two years after the Silvia-based 270R, Nismo rolled out the 400R. The tuning firm gave the R33 GT-R a huge power boost, kicking it up to 400hp. The engine was bored and stroked, gained larger pistons, polished ports, upgraded cams, and, of course, bigger turbochargers.
The exclusive aero kit included wider bumpers, bigger scoops, and unique side skirts. Of course, suspension upgrades were in order, and there were even carbon fiber parts fitted in a bid to reduce weight. Nismo claimed a top speed of ‘over 300kph’ and can do the 0-100 sprint in 4 seconds, astonishing figures from the ‘90s. Just 44 were made.
Nissan Skyline GT-R Nismo Z-Tune
The R34 Nissan Skyline would be the last to have the GT-R tag attached to it. The R34 Skyline GT-R stopped production in 2002, but that didn’t stop Nismo from making the ultimate version of this generation, the Z-Tune. It was an extreme makeover that included getting an engine based on Nissan's Le Mans GT2 and GT500 race cars.
Stroked, bored, and everything in between, the result was 493hp and 540Nm of torque. Each car was based on used R34 GT-Rs, stripped, stiffened, and reinforced, and put back together with all the Nismo goodies in place. 19 were made including two prototypes, making this the rarest Nismo to date.
