Godzilla's grand daddy

Let’s test your knowledge of Japan’s Godzilla. 

No, we are not talking about the fire-breathing monster that menaced Tokyo so many times through the 1950s and 60s. We are talking about the mighty Nissan GT-R pedigree which first picked up that Godzilla nickname in 1989 when the Skyline GT-R (R-32) was unleashed. Its sheer pace, handling prowess and racing triumphs put it firmly on the international map and secured it a place in sports car folklore. 

But Godzilla had a father. That’s right, the GT-R was in fact born some 20 years earlier, as the Skyline 2000 GT-R.  First launched in 1969, the “Hakosuka” GT-R as it was called (‘hako’ meaning boxy, ‘suka’ coming from the Japanese pronunciation of Skyline) was a rare sight on the streets even back then, as Nissan only built 1945 examples of this road-going race car. And today, estimates put the number of original GT-Rs remaining on Japan’s streets at around 500. 

Hiroaki Shinomiya owns one of those 500. The 45-year-old landscape designer is as passionate about his GT-R as he is about creating and caring for traditional Japanese gardens. 

“I think it was destiny. When I was around 21, I was driving a GT-R replica in Tokyo when I spotted a real ‘Hakosuka’ GT-R. After several phone calls, I finally tracked down the owner and asked whether he’d be willing to let the car go. When he realised that I was a landscape gardener, he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He said that I could have the car for $20,000, half its value back then. 

“But there was one extra condition: he wanted to me to take care of his garden – permanently. I knew by that statement that he would expect discounts on my work, and I was more than happy to oblige,” says Shinomiya. 

He nods when we ask whether he’s been looking after the previous owner’s garden since that fateful day. 

“Yes, I have been tending his garden every couple of months for 25 years.”

When we caught up with Shinomiya at his mechanic’s workshop on the outskirts of Tokyo, he was obviously between jobs. Dressed in his traditional Japanese gardener’s outfit – that seems inspired by Ninja – and grippy ‘jika-tabi’ shoes, he had the airs of a man who had found enlightenment. Designing garden scapes and tending to flora each day combined with the obvious contentment at owning a legendary GT-R gave him a peace and calmness we rarely find in interviewees.

Before taking the car for a spin, we asked him to open the bonnet. Perched in his engine bay was one of Nissan’s prettiest ever powerplants, the so-called S20. With its polished triple Weber carburettors and six shiny pipes, not to mention that bright red rocker cover sporting a “Nissan 2000” insignia, it is easy to see the car’s pedigree. Essentially the same specification as that of the 1966 Nissan/Prince R380 race car (Nissan merged with Prince in the 1960s), this 2.0-litre straight six develops 160hp/7000rpm and 180Nm of torque at 5600rpm. 

Exactly. The original GT-R was developed for racing. But to strengthen its aura and lift awareness levels amongst the motoring public, Nissan produced a road-going version in limited numbers. The racing version would prove its supremacy and add to the legend by winning 50 straight races in Japan’s touring car series between 1969 and 1972. This S20 engine was also later fitted to a car even more legendary than the GT-R, the Datsun 240Z (Japan-spec only).

As we pulled out onto the road, it was as if a script had been written for this test drive. What car should stop and let Shinomiya into traffic? None other than a current model R35 GT-R. We couldn’t help but feel a true sense of homage and respect was being paid here as the prodigal teenager let grand daddy show the way. Maybe there was some chemistry going on here that we could not see, but as soon as Shinomiya got some open road, he floored it. And the R35 was right there, mimicking every move. It was like a Kung Fu ‘Master-Grasshopper’ kind of moment, and I doubted whether the R35 GT-R would have let us in if I was behind the wheel.  I was just happy to sit in the passenger’s seat. Pushing it through 5000rpm in 2nd and 3rd gears of the GT-R’s 5-speed box, Shinomiya unleashed the 2.0 litre’s fury with a loud, dry raspy howl that echoed louder than the R35’s exhaust note. This ‘Hakosuka’ GT-R might be 43 years old, but it’s mighty quick off the mark, makes all the right noises and feels as firm yet composed as a 370Z.

Even cruising on public roads, the ‘Hakosuka’ still looks like it is rolling down pit lane ready to burst onto a race track at any moment. Measuring 4.33m long, 1.67m wide and just 1.37m high, this lightweight 1.1 tonne GT-R boasts the specs of a race car. This car still looks mean and well proportioned today, so back in the early 70s, it must have been a design dynamo. 

But with its low ride height, Shinomiya-san tells us that he drives it cautiously. Huh?! Yeah, right, when there’s no open road and an adventurous right ‘tabi’. 

“Whenever I turn off the road into any carpark, I must be careful not to scrape the underbody, because the car sits so low to the ground,” he adds.

In fact there were several carparks we tried to enter to turn around but had to quickly abort when the front spoiler started challenging rock-hard bitumen. That was okay by us because it gave us more time to really appreciate the world of “Hakosuka” GT-R. 

The interior smells of old leather and carpet and polish and wax, the workings of analog gauges, the notchy shift feel of that five-speed gearbox and the raspy, throaty roar of the 2.0 litre. This car has been cared for, you can tell.  The racing bucket seats and steering wheel have been replaced, and the interior leather has been reupholstered in parts, while every other detail inside the car has been meticulously maintained with spoonfuls of wax and elbow grease. 

Shinomiya-san does have one concern though. His engine. He says it’s due for an overall. Crikey, it didn’t feel like that to us. Hang on, this is a hand-built racing engine that goes back 43 years. So what’s that going to cost? 

“On the north side of $40,000,” he laments. He’ll have to shape a lot of trees, pen a few award-winning gardens and shape some expensive ‘bonsai’ to cover that fee.  

And what about the car itself? As you might expect, given its racing history and rarity, this GT-R is not cheap. He tells us it is currently worth around $100,000, but that means nothing to him. 

“I wouldn’t sell for double that amount. Because you just can’t find impeccably maintained GT-Rs anymore. And no 43 year-old car handles or sounds like this anyway.” 

He’s got a point there.

images: Wolfgang Groeger-Meier

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