Readers' Photos # 112: R31 Skyline GTS Coupe

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When it comes to Japanese performance sixes, Nissan is boss!  And, sweet as Zs are, the Skyline is Nissan's ultimate expression of that dominance, with a long, long history of performance-orientated variants dating back to the mid-1960s when they were manufactured by Japan's Prince Motor Company.


For us Aussies, the performance Skyline thing didn't really begin until the seventh generation R31 in 1985.  Our first offering - the 1970s' fourth generation C110 series, which didn't even go by the Skyline moniker, being badged here as a 240K - did come in sedan and coupe form.  However, it ran a fairly benign 2.4 litre six and had no particular sporting pretensions.  The fifth and sixth versions - the C210 and R30, respectively - did wear Skyline badges but again lacked a sporty variant Down Under.


That all changed with the introduction of the R31 with their 3.0 litre in-line six cylinder motors, although, to the best of my knowledge, the Australian market still missed out on a coupe version.  The Aussie range consisted of sedans and station wagons of varying specs, from poverty-pack through to executive-level.  From memory, the top three tiers were the Ti, followed by the luxo / sporty Silhouette and the performance-orientated Silhouette GTS.    
    

The GTS version was produced in two batches: 200 Series 1, all in white, and 200 Series in red, plus six Tasmania Police specials finished in white.  The police specials were identical to the regular GTSs, other than their colour and the ommission of the latter's Momo steering wheel and GTS badges.  Their build plates clearly indicate that they are genuine GTSs.  But I digress ... .  


Today's car - an imported R31 GTS coupe, photographed in suburban Canberra - is multiple levels of awesome above the Aussie sedan-based GTS.  Admittedly, the latter featured a brilliant locally tuned suspension set-up, along with Scheel seats, a Momo steering wheel and a tricked up motor, but I don't think it was really in the same league as these fully JDM-specced cars were.  

Rather than talk out of my ar*e by requoting Wikipedia, I suggest that anyone wanting to know more about JDM Skylines should go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Skyline.  See if you agree that in Japanese Six Cylinder World, Nissan is boss.  The evidence is pretty strong, I reckon!




U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

Photos by the Canberra Correspondent.         
 

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