How a Stretched Family Sedan Outran a Porsche at Suzuka

In 1964, race fans knew their place. A lightweight prototype like the Porsche 904 belonged at the front. A Japanese sedan with an oversized hood was supposed to stay in the rearview. But for one lap at Suzuka, that script flipped. The sedan darted past the Porsche, powered by an engine originally designed to chauffeur executives, not chase trophies.

That moment marked the birth of Japan's most famous performance lineage.

Japan's auto industry was booming in the early '60s, but international racing credibility lagged. Prince Motor Company, with roots in aircraft manufacturing, aimed higher than basic transportation. Its 1963 Gloria Super 6 introduced a 121-cubic-inch single-overhead-cam inline-six that produced 105 PS, the first Japanese engine to break the 100 PS mark.

That engine, the Prince G7, was built for smooth luxury in a sedan with factory air conditioning and power windows. Yet its compact displacement and overhead-cam design hinted at untapped potential.

After a humbling defeat at the 1963 Japanese Grand Prix, Prince needed a competitive car. Engineer Shinichiro Sakurai, later known as the father of the Skyline, took a direct approach: drop the Gloria's six-cylinder into the smaller S50 Skyline. The engine bay didn't fit, so the team lengthened the hood by nearly eight inches.

They hand-built 100 road cars to meet homologation rules, finishing just two days before the 1964 race. The resulting Skyline 2000GT looked awkward but carried the G7 engine, which in race trim used triple Weber carbs for extra power.

At Suzuka, seven Skyline GTs entered the GT-II class. Then a privateer Porsche 904 Carrera GTS appeared, a mid-engined, fiberglass-bodied racer. On paper, the Skyline had no business competing. But driver Tetsu Ikuzawa caught and passed the Porsche for one lap. The crowd erupted.

The Porsche eventually won, but Prince cars filled second through sixth. That brief pass turned a defeat into a national legend. Prince later released the Skyline 2000GT-B with 125 PS, and Nissan inherited the line after a 1966 merger. The Prince G7 may be forgotten, but it started the Skyline's performance legacy.