Nissan Gives New Meaning To ‘NY Skyline’ With Legacy Models On Display

While the facelifted 2017 GT-R R35 was clearly the main attraction over at Nissan’s NY Auto Show stand, the Japanese automaker also brought along a couple of noteworthy siblings.

Before we touch on the legacy models, we can’t ignore the vertigo-inducing camouflaged GT-R Nismo which posted a record time of 7:08.679 around the Nurburgring back in 2013. It certainly represents a very important chapter within the GT-R’s own history book, and we can understand why it was also on display.

Now for the legacy models. To start off we have the 2-door 1970 Skyline 2000 GT-R which came with a 2.0-liter engine, good for 160 HP and 180 Nm (132 lb-ft) of torque. Initially, Nissan built a 4-door sedan, but the coupe was launched later on in October 1970 and introduced in March 1971.

The second-generation Skyline 2000 GT-R on display is said to be a 1973 model, which was also the year when Nissan ceased production due to financial reasons. Performance-wise, the 2.0 liter DOHC unit had the same power and torque figures as the previous generation model.

Also on display are the 1995 Skyline GT-R and the more famous 1999 GT-R which was featured back when the Fast & Furious franchise first got started and became even more of a cult icon. At its best, the R34 GT-R could produce as much as 500 PS if you went for the NISMO Z-tune version – only 19 units ever made.

With the GT-R having such a storied history, fans should look forward to seeing what Nissan have in store once the facelifted 2017 model steps aside.

By Sergiu Tudose