Guide: Nissan PGC-10 Skyline 2000 GT-R
Background
On August 1st 1966, Nissan finalised their acquisition of the Prince Motor Company in a deal that had first been announced during May 1965.
Outside of Japan, Prince was little known, but domestically it had produced a range of highly regarded models. Of these, the four cylinder Skyline (a mid-range Sedan / Coupe) and Gloria (a range-topping Sedan / Station Wagon) were the firm’s most famous models.
Prince was also an enthusiastic motor sport participant which led to the creation of some exciting high performance machinery.
First of these to arrive was the S54 Skyline 2000 GT homologation special in May 1964 to which Prince fitted the G-7 engine from the Gloria S41. As all other Skylines used four cylinder engines, the S54 needed a 200mm wheelbase extension to accommodate the straight six G-7 engine.
While the S54 proved successful in racing, Prince really wanted to compete with the out-and-out European Prototypes that routinely took the honours in Japan’s biggest races.
What emerged was the R380, a Group 6 Prototype with which Prince claimed first, second and fourth in the 1966 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji having already set a number of speed records in late 1965. The R380 was powered by Prince’s all bells and whistles GR-8 two-litre straight six derived from the S54’s G-7 unit.
By this time, Prince had already begun work on their third generation Skyline dubbed the C10. However, as a result of the impending takeover, the C10 would make its debut as a Nissan.
The C10 was launched in 1968 as a four-door Sedan and Station Wagon with a choice of 1.5 or 1.8-litre inline four cylinder engines and a two-litre straight six.
Two months later (in October) a high performance version dubbed the Skyline 2000 GT-R was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show. Code-named PGC-10, it became the origin for the GT-R story.
In the engine bay was a state-of-the-art commercial adaption of the R380’s straight six engine which Nissan had continued to develop throughout the 1967 and ‘68 seasons.
Production began in February 1969 and the GT-R was sold exclusively as a Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) through the Nissan Prince Store chain.
Over the next two seasons, the Skyline GT-R would become the platform of choice for Japanese Touring Car racing.
Chassis
The GT-R was based on a steel platform chassis with 2640mm wheelbase as per the six cylinder C10 2000 GT. It had a conventional front-engine rear-drive layout.
Fully independent suspension was via MacPherson struts up front and semi-trailing arms at the rear. For the GT-R, shorter, stiffer springs were fitted along with firmer dampers and an anti-roll bar at either end. The effect was a car with a lower ride height and much-improved handling.
Disc brakes were fitted up front with drums at the rear.
Black-painted 14 x 6-inch steel wheels were bereft of any hub caps.
Unlike the 2000 GT (which used a 50-litre fuel tank), the GT-R came with a massive 100-litre cell mounted over the rear axle.
Engine / Gearbox
Instead of the single overhead cam L20 straight six fitted to the 2000 GT (which was itself downgraded in October 1968), the GT-R came with one of the most advanced sub two-litre engines available at the time.
Its S20 motor was derived from the Prince GR-8 unit that had been conceived for the R380 Group 6 Prototype. It utilised a cast-iron block and a trick light alloy cross-flow head with four valves per cylinder, dual overhead camshafts and pent-roof combustion chambers. Each head was meticulously hand ported and polished prior to installation. Tube headers and a free flow dual-pipe exhaust were also fitted.
Fuel feed was via three Mikuni-Solex 40 PHH-3 twin choke sidedraught carburettors and the compression ratio was set at 9.5:1.
Compared to GR-8 race engine, stroke was reduced from 63mm to 62.8mm. The cylinder bores were kept at 82mm for an overall displacement of 1989cc.
The S20 engine tipped the scales at 199kg.
Peak output was 160bhp at 7000rpm and 130lb-ft at 5600rpm.
For comparison, the latest 1998cc 2000 GT with its single overhead camshaft, two valves per cylinder, single carburettor and 9.0:1 compression ratio produced 105bhp at 5200rpm and 116lb-ft at 3600rpm.
As opposed to a standard four-speed gearbox, the GT-R was further uprated with a five-speed unit.
Transmission was through a dry single-plate clutch and limited-slip differential.
Bodywork
From the outside, Nissan added a few subtle details that distinguished the GT-R from lesser Skylines.
It came with red-backed GT-R badges front and back, bullet-type fender-mounted mirrors, lightweight bumpers without rubber overriders and no rubbing strip along the sills. When combined with its hunkered down appearance and purposeful black wheels, the GT-R looked a far sportier proposition than the 2000 GT.
The C10 was designed by Shinichiro Sakurai who adopted a conventional ‘three-box’ approach to its styling. This led to the car quickly acquiring its ‘Hakosuka’ nickname which combined the Japanese word for box (Hako) with the pronounced abbreviation of Skyline (Suka).
Sakurai incorporated a number of pleasing elements to C10 including pronounced front fender tops, intricately contoured flanks and a full with front aperture that housed twin headlight assemblies per side. A similar treatment was mimicked on the tail where Sakurai added a satin black fascia.
Interior
Compared to the 2000 GT, the GT-R came with several special cockpit features.
They included fixed-back bucket seats with ribbed basket-weave centres, a 10,000rpm rev counter (instead of 8000rpm), a black leatherette rim for the three-spoke steering wheel (instead of wood) and red instead of black badges for the steering wheel and gear lever.
Everything else was pretty much the same.
Directly behind the steering wheel were large read outs for road and engine speed in between which were small water temperature and oil pressure gauges. An ammeter and fuel read out were mounted on the centre console above a plated metal 2000 GT script. Housed centrally in the main dash was the radio, a clock, the ventilation controls and an ashtray. Off to the right was a lockable glovebox with plated metal Skyline script.
Wooden dash and centre console inserts matched the gear knob. Upholstery was black vinyl.
Manual window winders were fitted all round.
Options
To save weight, customers could opt not to have an audio system installed. A passenger-side head rest was also available.
Weight / Performance
The C12 Skyline GT-R weighed in at 1120kg and had a 124mph top speed.
0-62mph took 9.8 seconds.
Production Changes
Only a few changes were made during the GTR’s production run.
The horizontal nose intake located between the sidelights was opened up and Lucas fuel-injection became an option.
End of Production
Production stopped in October 1970, by which time 832 GT-R’s had been built, all of which were right-hand drive cars built for the Japanese Domestic Market.
The PGC-10 four-door Sedan subsequently made way for a lighter, more agile two-door short wheelbase Coupe dubbed the KPGC-10 2000 GT-R Hardtop (covered separately).
Competition Success
The GT-R made its competition debut on May 3rd 1969 in the 30 lap JAF Grand Prix race at Fuji where Nissan works driver Takamichi Shinohara took the 210bhp car’s maiden win.
Ten more races followed during the course of the ‘69 season and the GT-R won them all. Six of the car’s victories came at the hands of the factory team with the remaining five achieved by privateers.
In the GT’R’s seventh outing (the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji on October 10th), Nissan introduced a fuel-injected 230bhp engine. That particular event, arguably the most important of the year, was won by Takatoshi Teranishi in another works machine.
1970 saw the GT-R’s domination continue. It ultimately racked up another 24 consecutive wins without that year followed by another in the opening race of 1971. All-in-all, the PGC-10 accumulated 36 straight wins by the time it was retired in favour of the two-door KPGC-10 variant.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Nissan - https://www.nissan-global.com
