Skyline History, Part 4.

December 23, 2008

Continued from; “Skyline History, Part 3.”

So with the final facelift of the S21 doing it’s single year dash from 1962. 1963 saw the release of a new model and a new generation of Skyline.

The new face on the scene was the Prince Skyline S50;

Prince Skyline S50-D

A lot of the styling cues were taken from the previous model, despite the shape of the car being entirely different. Front and rear appearance made the car easily recognizable as the successor in the Skyline range, the now signature round rear lamps remained and the flowing trim that swooped under the rear panel (although changed for the new shape) was still a feature of the new car.

Round Rear Lamps

The powerplant in the S50 was the G1, still the same line of engine as the 1st Generation, though where the G2 (as used in the S21) was the 1900cc, the G1 took the role of 1500cc. Though in this new generation of car, the size played a large factor, where before the 1500 was 70ps and pulling a 1300kg mass around, it was now a pittance more at 71ps, the key point was that in it’s new guise, the Skyline was only 960kg. It did however lose out in other areas, the 4cylinder S50 was now solid rear end with only 3spd manual (instead of the previous 4spd) and 13″ wheels.

S50, G1 1500cc Engine

Overall size, significantly less (front)

Solid Rear Axle, 13" Steel Wheels (Deluxe with full chrome caps)

Of course, this new chassis meant a new platform to try other things and where the Skyline Sport had once made use of the ALSI chassis, the Skyline 1900 Sprint, made use of the S50 chassis. Though the Sprint never saw time outside the Motor shows, and was never put into production, it was however an interesting potential route that the Skyline could have made and is well worth noting.

Prince Skyline Sprint 1900 (R52)

Skyline Sprint 1900, as the name suggests, used a 1900cc engine, the same as used in the S21 and S40 Gloria, the G2. Though I cannot find and specs on the car due to it’s lack of mass production, one can safely assume that a larger engine and a smaller body than the S50, can only lead to a more performance based equation. I can’t help but wonder where the Skyline range might have ended up if the Sport and Sprint manner of car had of maintained a presence in the range.

The 1900 Sprint on display during 1963 Auto Show

The 1900 Sprint on display during 1963 Upcoming Auto Show

During this time, whilst the Skyline was undergoing change, the Gloria was doing the same, though the Gloria received something slightly more special in the form of a 6cylinder Over-head Cam motor, known as the G7. With Prince taking more and more interest in Motorsport it was only a matter of time before this engine was to find it’s way into a Skyline. With a class victory in the G7 powered Gloria under their belts, a more serious look was taken. 100 homologation units of a G7 powered Skyline were commissioned and so a new chapter in Skyline history was born. More on that in Part 5.

I’ll leave this entry with a few more detail shots of the S50D.