Now's Your Chance To Buy A Perfect 1972 Skyline GT-R

There aren’t many more iconic cars in the JDM scene than the Skyline GT-R. Sure the AE86 is a drift hero and the epic FD RX-7 has the rotary quirk to stand out, but the GT-R has a legacy that began with a special edition of a four-door saloon nearly 50 years ago.

In 1964, Nissan produced the 2000GT Skyline with the intention of taking it GT racing, but it wasn’t until 1969 that the first GT-R was produced; the two door coupe version you see here was released two years later.

Under the bonnet sits a 2.0-litre race-derived S20 engine, which has dual overhead camshafts, a cross-flow head with four valves per cylinder, and a hemispherical combustion chamber with dual-throat Mikuni-Solex side-draft carburetors. It makes an impressive 160hp

Known as ‘Hakosuka’ - loosely translated as ‘boxy Skyline’ - the GT-R dominated Japanese GT racing just as Nissan had hoped, managing an incredible 46 successive wins. It’s easy to see how the Skyline name quickly became synonomous with going very quickly.

This particular KPGC10 was first registered in 1972 in Japan, and stayed in the same family until 2008. The current owner undertook light restoration work, keeping it largely stock. That means you keep those flawless rear arch flares and delicately functional factory rear spoiler.

The car currently sits on lightweight aftermarket Watanabe wheels and has a Datsun Racing steering wheel, but incredibly the sale includes both original items should you wish to return to a genuinely stock look.

Finding a stock KPGC10 Skyline GT-R is near-enough impossible these days, so to find one that’s also in such incredible condition with less than 42,000 kilometres (26k miles) on the clock is quite remarkable. Unfortunately that does mean that this car is expensive, being sold at RM Auctions in California next weekend for an expected $125,000 to $175,000 (£74k-£104k). On the plus side there’s no reserve, but don’t expect to snatch up a bargain - this thing will be highly sought after.

We’ll keep an eye on this when it goes under the hammer. Whatever the price, somebody is about to take ownership of an iconic piece of JDM history.

Thanks for the link, Ollie (via Pistonheads.)