Top Secret tuner: Skyline GT-R "650R" is a JDM golden child | Hagerty Media

[Hagerty]

Though the Nissan Skyline first appeared in the mid-1960s, it wasn't until the '89 Nissan Skyline GT-R that Nissan's flagship car catapulted to legendary status among sports car fans. Just like its predecessors, the R32-generation Skyline retains a straight-six engine layout.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/top-secret-r32-650r-gold/

[Greg_I]

The comparison of Smoky Nagata and Caroll Shelby was spot on! Both are absolute tuning legends. Nice to see some enthusiasm for Top Secret’s creations over here.

[Gary_Bechtold]

Nice to know the car is in Texas. Maybe I'll get lucky and see it one day.

[Greg_I]

That would be amazing of you did!

[tahend]

Beautiful car.

[Lightning1]

I used to go to Narita that is in Chiba quite often. There was a hot rod shop just outside of Narita that built some really impressive cars. I don't know if this was the same shop or not, but they had a lot of Skylines there.

[gacocks]

The Godzilla name was given to the R32 in Australia by Wheels magazine in 1989. The GT-R easily conquered the Australian Touring Car Championship, changing the face of motor racing in Australia. A wonderful car in all respects. In those days, the stock version was unbeatable - tuners not required!

[Gary6]

My friend has the same year Skyline, (not modded by Smoky though !) and I have a 94 Supra.
We go to car meets together, usually parked side by side as the JDM section LOL.
The Top Secret Skyline is awesome for sure.

[MATTMERICA]

These Skylines are around much more than you would think. I went to speed shop in Richmond VA one weekend for a dyno pull on one of my trucks and this was the only place that had a 4WD dyno. I get there early and the guy who opens it up gives me a 45 second tour of the place and I see not 1 but 2 Skylines in the back. Both were in for work, and he said they normally have 2-3 in the back at all times. While the engines may be agreeable to high hp output, many have serious issues once they hit 650 hp......the two that were in the shop were there for that vague reason lol

[Yukichan]

Two cars before this gold R32 Smokey spent 8 months building a white R32, code named “Yuki Chan”. This was a ground up restoration and included many special parts, including his personal D1 engine. Yuki Chan was a special build for Smokey because he was building one of his favorite chassis and was doing it for a close friend of his. When Smokey found Yuki Chan she was sitting inside, where she had been for over 20 years without a heartbeat. Smokey purchased her off of her original owner who had driver her only 34k original kilometers. While the gold R32 definitely has a better paint job on it, Yuki Chan is 100 % honest and shows the same scratches she did nearly 30 years ago when she was born. Soon after Smokey brought Yuki Chan back to life he began another project, VR32. This radical and one-off build quickly overshadowed Yuki Chan and she was all but forgotten to most, but not to me. You see, I am the proud owner of Yuki Chan and I can tell you, if you want to see a true testament to Smokey’s craft, please check her out.