What is Prince? What does it refer to? It refers to the name of the company that started the development of the Skyline back in 1955. The Prince Motor Company was a Japanese manufacturer, which started as an aircraft manufacturer. The company used to manufacture airplane models for the Japanese army in World War II under the name of Tachikawa Aircraft Company. After the war, Tachikawa Aircraft Company had dissolved into smaller units and started manufacturing cars. In 1952, it changed its name into Prince Motor Company. 

We’re used to Nissan Skyline GTRs as being a sports car with only two doors, but the very first Skyline was different, unique. Prince Motor Company produced the Prince Skyline between 1957 and 1966. That was when Nissan decided to put its hands on the car as Prince Motor Company merged with Nissan in 1966. Then, the Skyline started to become a performance 4-door sedan with an advanced technology that made it way beyond its time. It was developed to race, to compete, to win.

Back then, when the Skyline came under the name Nissan Skyline GTR, it was the fastest Japanese car ever. The Prince Motor Company was into motorsports and it had a huge history of race wins and successes with its Skyline, and they introduced the Prince Skyline GT (S54) in 1964. The latter was introduced to win the 2nd Japan Grand Prix back in 1964. However, it came second after the Porsche 904 (Carrera GTS). As leading car manufacturers would not accept to lose or come second, Prince developed a car called R380 to race in Japanese Grand Prix, and in 1966, it actually raced and won against the Porsche 904 and was ranked first. After Nissan and Prince merged, they both developed and modified the R380 into Nissan R380-II. 

The Nissan Skyline GTR 1969, which is a piece of art developed by both Nissan and Prince, has the same engine of the Nissan R380-II, the car that was one of the fastest in the world and developed by Nissan and Prince as well. Both cars shared the same high-tech 2.0L Inline-6, unlike the Skyline GTRs we know, which had a V6. The engine had a power of 160hp, which was considered a good power back then in the 60s. The car’s weight was only about 1089kg. What made the car advanced is its inline-6 engine had a four-valve Dual Overhead Cam. An engine having a dual cam and 4 valves instead of 2 per cylinder was considered an advanced technology that would allow more airflow, thus more power. The four-wheel independent suspension system made the car handling astonishing. These cool features made the car win 52 races in the first years of its competition! That’s why it’s a legend that had been wanted so bad by everyone back then. Everyone would desire the fastest Japanese sedan.

In 1970, the first two-door Nissan Skyline GTR was introduced. If you think about it, a car manufacturer using an I6 engine with Dual Overhead Cams technology was such a genius idea. That’s what happens when the giant Nissan collaborates with another Japanese manufacturer who’s thirsty for more race wins and successes.

The legendary car was followed by 4 other Skyline GTR generations. The second generation came as a two-door sports car, but it wasn’t successful back then, due to a petrol crisis that affect demand on sports car. Then, the R32 Skyline GTR, the R33 Skyline GTR, and the R34 Skyline GTR. Following the last model, R34, Nissan decided starting from 2002, at the end of the R34 production, to separate the name Skyline from GTR. After that, Nissan made an entirely new vehicle, which is the current Godzilla that we know. Nissan introduced the monster back in 2008 to the world. Just like its predecessors, it has amazed the world with its astonishing Japanese looks, high reliability as a performance car, and impressing performance and handling.