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ABOUT
THE C110 / C111 NISSAN SKYLINE |
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The C110 series and 4th Generation
of Skyline was released for sale
in September of 1972.
The lineup was very similar to
that of the previous generation,
with both 4 and 6 cylinder options
in a range of either Coupe/Hardtop,
Sedan or Wagon/Estate. The engines
were again the G16, G18 in 4-cylinder
and L20 in 6-cylinder form for the
Japanese Domestic Market and as
with the previous C10/3rd generation
Skyline
The export market received an L24
in the 6-cylinder range, though
the 4th Generation export cars lost
the Skyline as well as Nissan name.
They instead received a K suffix
and the Datsun title. To be in line
with the rest of Nissan’s export
market (eg. Bluebird = 180B, Cedric
= 240C, FairladyZ = 240Z, etc.)
The export lineup consisted of the
160K (G16, 4cyl), 180K (G18, 4cyl)
& the 240K (L24 6cyl).
MODELS (VERY BASICS)
1600- 1.5 L G16 I4, ?? hp
1800 - 1.8 L G18 I4, ?? hp
2000 GT - 2.0 L G-7 I6, ?? hp
2000 GT-X - 2.0 L L20 I6, ?? hp
2000 GT-R - 2.0 L S20 I6, ?? hp
KEN & MARY ADVERTISEMENTS
The C110 was nicknamed the ‘Kenmeri’
in Japan, due to the advertising
campaign that showed a young happy
Japanese couple driving all about
the place in their Nissan Skyline,
the name of this couple was as the
nickname would suggest, Ken &
Mary. Though these advertisements
were a follow on from the C10, the
majority of them were done under
the C110 series and so that’s where
the nickname stuck.
Again, as was now tradition, the
nose of the 6cylinder versions was
longer than that of the 4′s to accommodate
the length of the engine. Though
this time that length was split
more between the front and rear
of the front arch as opposed to
being predominantly rear of the
front arch as it was in the C10.
The 4-cylinder sedans came with
lesser spec'd fender mirrors, rather
than being a moulded uni-body mirror,
they were your more typical two-piece
stalk and flat face affair. This
was only between the sedans, even
the 4-cylinder hardtops got the
uni-body mirrors.
There were a few options and types
available for the C110, in the seating
you had the option of cloth seats,
vinyl seats with cloth inserts or
100% vinyl seats, in a variety of
colours (namely blue or black.)
The more luxurious C110 was the
2000GT-X which came with a roof
console with extra warning lamps
on it, and electric windows all
around as well as the added performance
bonus of Twin Hitachi SU’s, similar
to those used on the FairladyZ or
Datsun 240Z.
The C110 was also the return to
the trademark Skyline round rear
lamps. Having said that however,
the majority of the 4-cylinder cars
still missed out on this feature.
As many are aware, the early seventies
saw an oil crisis which forced manufacturers
to abandon most of their high performance
vehicles. Nissan was sadly not an
exception to this rule, the legend
that was the GT-R was only produced
as a road car and production was
cut short, only 197 of these vehicles
are alledged to have been produced,
making the KPGC110 the rarest of
all Nissan Skyline GT-R’s.
This time the 2000GT-R was only
available as a Coupe/Hardtop and
it still used the S20 engine.
C110 WORKS RACE CAR PROTOTYPE
Before the severity of the oil crisis
was known, there was a C110 works
race car proto-type built, but it
was almost entirely a cosmetic affair.
It was coated in a deep metallic
green with gold accents and pin-striping,
emblazoned with the number ’73′
indicative of the year of the 110
GT-Rs release. With large, almost
monstrous flares, devilishly wide
RS-Watanabe wheels to match and
a deep spook chin spoiler we can
but wonder what greatness this purposeful
looking machine may have achieved.
1976 C111
The C110 was face-lifted and received
a few minor modifications in 1976,
this facelift became known as the
C111. The most notable was the Prince
engine was to see it’s last Skyline
and the G series was replaced by
the L-series. That being said, the
Skyline was now available with the
L16 and L18 4-cylinder engines and
the 6 became fuel injected, receiving
the L20E. Though export models still
used carbs. Electronic Fuel Injection
on the 6-cylinder, increased power
from 118/123 to 128 hp. Though with
it, the weight also went up, from
1,150 -> 1,220 kg in the Hardtop
and 1,125 -> 1,200 kg in the
sedan.
The 4- cylinder’s weight also suffered
during the facelift by a similar
amount of around 65 kg.
These face-lifts as with any previous
face-lift was more of a sales run-out
of the old shell as the new shape
was developed, and in August of
1977 the next generation appeared,
the C210 nicknamed “Skyline Japan”.
Main
thanks: www.retro-classics.co.nz
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INFORMATION - IN BRIEF |
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PRODUCTION
- 1972–1977
- 670,562 units sold
ENGINES
1.6 L G16, I4
1.8 L G18, I4
2.0 L L20B, I4
2.0 L L20A, I6
2.0 L S20, I6
2.4 L L24, I6
BODY STYLES
2-door coupe
4-door sedan
5-door station wagon
TRANSMISSIONS
??
LAYOUTS
Front engine, rear-wheel drive
WHEELS
??
ASSEMBLY
Musashimurayama,
Japan
RELATED TO
Nissan Laurel
DESIGNER
Shinichiro Sakurai
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