The Nissan Skyline has been named the most iconic Japanese car ever by followers of Japfest – a large-scale event in Europe that celebrates Japanese cars and culture.
Organisers of Japfest, which will run a show at Silverstone later this year, carried out a survey among its social media followers, asking which performance car they consider the most iconic in Japanese car culture.
History of the Skyline
The car which picked up the most votes was the Nissan Skyline, beating the Toyota Supara which was runner-up and the Subaru Impreza WRX which came third.
Nissan first introduced the Skyline to the world all the way back in 1957 and there have been over ten generations of the car. While earlier incarnations were focused on just practical family motoring, later incarnations introduced sportier saloons and coupes which went on to gain more of the attention.
The Nissan Skyline exploded in popularity within Britain during the late 1990s, thanks in large part to the range-topping GT-R specification. The presence of Skyline GT-R models in the popular Playstation video game Gran Turismo, which went on sale in Europe in 1998, no doubt helped to boost the car’s popularity.
Probably the most famous model out of all the Skylines ever made is the R34 GT-R coupe. When it launched, it received a lot of praise from car reviewers and buyers for its potent performance, sharp handling and vast array of technological driving aids which made it really stand out at the time.
The GT-R today
Nissan has since turned the GT-R into its own distinct model range, separate from the Skyline name. But Skyline GT-Rs from the past still evidently retain a strong following.
Japfest event manager, Katherine Chappell, commented: “The Nissan Skyline is one of the cars that really kicked off the Japanese tuning craze in the UK, so it’s no surprise to see that it’s been named as the most iconic Japanese performance car of all time.”
While the Skyline name is not present in the UK market anymore, car buyers can still get a performance-focused coupe via the GT-R line-up.
