1954. In the Year 1954 the cinematic world would change forever. During the '50s, many moviegoers would become obsessed with horror films, undead beings, and monsters. Many of these monsters became household names in a matter of no time: The Thing, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, a variety of aliens from other planets, and the plant which devoured flesh in the Little Shop of Horrors (the one which said "Feeeed meeee!"). Many of these monsters were invented by Hollow-wood (oops) I mean Hollywood, which means they were American creations. But there was one which would become known from the other side of the globe, one who would cause a worldwide sensation to this day. 

Godzilla seemed to have been inspired by both King Kong and those fascinated by dinosaurs. Here we had a larger-than-a-dinosaur type of dinosaur who did things only King Kong had managed before: running amok through cities, tearing them apart with his bare hands, causing entire battalions to mobilize, entire villages to flee. Unlike King Kong, Godzilla did not have a particular human female he was after; Godzilla only wanted to crush/kill/destroy. 

1989. Up until the Year 1989, the name "Godzilla" could only be used in reference to this gigantic creature from the movies; up until the Year 1989 nobody thought the monster would actually come to life. Those who feared Godzilla before 1989 might only need to remind themselves that he's just something to be seen in a movie. Right?        

16. 16 is the number of years which had passed from the time Nissan gave up their quest to create their best versions of their top automobiles, and for awhile it looked as if they would never try again. As the Skyline lineage faded from glorious winner to common milk-drinker, many thought perhaps the Skyline might never again rise up to its former reign of terror on the racetracks, which (by 1989) had now become a series of mere paragraphs in automotive textbooks, and mere screenshots on fading Super 8 film reels. We can relive the glory of Nissan's GT-R in various forms of media basically, but not in real-life. Sure, Nissan's Z cars did plenty of damage in the world of IMSA, SCCA, and WRC motorsports during the late '70s and into the '80s, but the Skyline was history, and civilian versions of the Z were nothing to fear, with roughly 180 horses at best if we're talking about the turbocharged ZX. Hmph.   

Yet there were hints, rumbles felt along the earth, if you will, of something yet to come, something much more fearsome, terrifying and dangerous, and it would not be the Z that showcased these tremors and intuitions. A thump along pavement. A growl one might think he hears across an alleyway. Slowly but surely, the one to watch would be the Skyline, as it subtly evolved its shape and strength. First, it got a turbo, then, a dual-overhead cam engine. The designation which followed the word "Skyline" also danced around a lot, hinting at what was to come. There was the RS Turbo. The GT-ES. The GTS. GTS Turbo. GTS-X. GTS-R. It's as if Nissan was teasing their fans, making them wonder and doubt. Ha ha, wonder why we're giving our cars all these silly acronyms, Skyline Fans? Then, it happened. The moment of truth. 

The version everyone was waiting for finally showed its face in the Year 1989. 1989 was a rather special year in the Japanese automotive world; not only did the Nissan everyone desired re-appear, but so did Mazda's 2-seater Miata, Subaru's first Legacy, and Mitsubishi's first Eclipse. The 300ZX's newest edition also showed its new, rounded face. ... All of these wound up becoming world-sellers, while Nissan's latest gem would wind up merely known to a select "few", and mostly on the Eastern Hemisphere. Such a shame, too.

The 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R would be the first to feature a long list of items developed during the 1980s in other Nissan vehicles, like ECCS fuel injection and HICAS steering. The difference was the GT-R would step even further than anything previously seen. For instance, there had never been an all-wheel drive Skyline before, and certainly not one which used a series of tricks to help it perform even better than the average all-wheel drive car on the market. Subaru's AWD systems were mechanical and hydraulically-activated for instance, while the GT-R's added computer technology. Mitsubishi's AWD systems may have been awesome off-road, but on pavement they provided the driver plenty of understeer, with little hope for anything else. At least in 1989 this was true. Nissan tried their best to eliminate all of this, while delivering only the better traits of an all-wheel drive drivetrain.   

We know the rest...right? Godzilla? 29 consecutive wins in its first year of life? So many wins over the next few years it was not only banned, but also caused rule changes, re-classified entire categories of racing, and created a general fear amongst those who dared face the beast. ... yadda yadda yadda. Japanese A-class racing basically shut its doors because after awhile, nobody wanted to compete against the GT-R. Nobody could. Those who question why there are so many Skylines in Gran Turismo (and so many versions of R32, R33, and R34 Skylines in particular) need only visit a history page on this vehicle.

I believe there are three base-model Skyline GT-Rs from the R32 generation in GT4 and 5: 1989, 1991, and 1993. I have yet to find any significant differences between them, oddly, other than model year. They all have the same dimensions, are shod with the same tire sizes, and all boast the same engines & power, the only difference is some start with more miles, and therefore less power, when we first buy them. Only thing that's noticed right off the bat is the latter cars carry a bit more weight than the '89. The '91 GT-R weighs-in at 3,262 pounds for instance, while the '89 is 3,152. Perhaps as each car is tuned things start to change, though. Who knows? I don't, and it'll take awhile to find out. 

To confuse Westerners like myself further, there are about a half-dozen extra designations to be found 'after' the letters GT-R. These extra versions aren't just for show. Here are some of the features these monsters had which made them superior to base model GT-Rs.

GT-R N1: N1-reinforced engine for endurance-type racing. The N1 was also lightened to 3,080 pounds, had lower-profile tires, and could only be had in a 'crystal white' paint job. N1 cars did not have air conditioning, ABS brakes, and other such features, all in an effort to make these lighter.  

GT-R V-Spec: Featured four-pot Brembos with ventilated 324 mm discs front and two pot Brembos with ventilated 300mm discs rear. Also had an ATTESA E-TS 4 wheel drive system, and bigger 17″ x 8″ BBS aluminum alloy wheels with 225/50 ZR 17 tires (the regular car has 16" wheels).

GT-R V-Spec II: Tire size was increased to 245/45 ZR17 due to N1 endurance (Gr.N) race regulations.

There are also other GT-Rs to be found in our games, but these are touring cars and tuners, some specialized by Nismo: Nissan's racing & tuning arm. So with all these versions clamoring for attention, this is why this review focuses upon the base models. At least, that's what I'm going to try to do.    

In 1989, the GT-R could be had for 5,311,350 Japanese yen, or about $37,000, which is roughly the price we pay in Gran Turismo 5. In the 4th game, I've seen some of these for less than half this price though, so happy hunting for some 15K deals!  

Wait. You hear that? Something is coming. Somebody is coming...