The Inside Story Of The Mighty R32

Beginning as Nissan’s unlikely poster child for global domination, the R32 became a road and track megastar

- Nathan Ponchard

Given the lack of flair in most current Nissan products, it’s difficult to remember that for a brief period between 1989 and about 1994 the Nissan Motor Company was a dynamic, exciting carmaker hell-bent on global domination.

Yes, you read that correctly. An ambitious global product program called Project 901 (which translated as ‘number one in the ’90s’) was intended to set Nissan on a course for all-out technological warfare, displacing Honda as Japan’s premier car manufacturer in the process. And in the beginning it really did start out well.

The ensuing five-year purple patch produced some cracking cars. It began with the fourth-generation 300ZX/Fairlady Z in early 1989 before gaining momentum with the audacious Infiniti Q45 limousine, Euro-bashing Primera medium car and best-ever Pulsar/Sunny range (the N14), not to mention the eradefining S13 Silvia/180SX and S14 Silvia/200SX sports coupes.

However, the crowning glory was without doubt the R32 Skyline GT-R.

Reviving Nissan’s revered GT-R badge after 15 years on the bench, the flagship R32 Skyline was a totally new car, completely at odds with its square-edged rear-drive predecessor. While the R32’s pumped-up form carried a surprising amount of visual restraint for an ’80s Japanese car, the reality was a sublime combination of brute force and beautiful engineering. In mid-1989, the level of technology (with accompanying acronyms) crammed into the GT-R’s compact form was unheard of.