Motor Australia – September 2019

07

JULY 1989. The

cover of our sibling

magazine Wheels

reads: “Skyline

Supercar! Nissan’s new

Godzilla on wheels

aims to slay the

Sierra.” It was the first

reference to the GT-R

as Godzilla, a moniker

it carries to this day.

'GODZILLA'

IS BORN

NISMO SHOWS

OFF FIRST CAR

FEBRUARY 1990.Nissan’smotorsportarmproduces 560

cars to homologatechangesforGroupA racing,including

extra spoilers,moreducting,noABS,rearwiperorradioand

stronger steel-wheeledturbochargers.

AUGUST 1989. One hundred of those 43,937 R32s came to

Australia.Youcanread how and why on page 84, but essentially

NissanOzwantedtocontinue racing and didn’t have a local

producttouse,soput together a program to import the GT-R.

NISSAN AUSTRALIA

ANNOUNCES

IMPORT PROGRAM

1

11

MARCH 1990. The R32 GT-R makes its debut in the Japanese

Touring Car Championship and wins all 29 races and four

championships until Super Touring regs are introduced in 1994.

JUNE 1990. The GT-R makes its Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) debut at Mallala

for Round 6 with Mark Skaife at the wheel. Jim Richards switches from the HR31 GTS-R a

round later and wraps up Nissan’s first ATCC title by dominating the final round at Oran Park.

Richards would repeat his success in 1991 before Skaife secured his first ATCC title in 1992.

R32 DOMINATES

JAPANESE TOURING

CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

GT-R ENTERS

AUSTRALIAN

TOURING CARS