Friday 22nd November 2013

Nissan Skyline R31: PH Ad Break

So fabulously 80s it will drive you insane. No, really, it will

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Alright, so the latest R35 NISMO isn't a Skyline but, for most of us, the GT-R fascination will have originated from the Skyline-badged R32s, 33s and 34s.

But for this PH Ad Break, we're heading back to the pre-GT-R days of the R31. It's a million miles from the latest GT-R, but it's a nice (tenuous) link back and, far more importantly, a brilliant commercial.

It's eight minutes of horribly repetitive electronic backing music, winding roads, test tracks and the most wonderfully garish 80s fonts to illustrate the Skyline's equipment roster. If you thought a feast of tech acronyms was a modern fascination, think again. The 1986 R31's equipment included 4WAS 'anti-skid braking system', HICAS active suspension plus an EAT auto transmission.

As this was the 80s, manufacturers could actually show their cars doing some speed. So keep an eye out for a speedo that climbs much more slowly beyond 80mph, a tacho winding up to 7,000rpm and a boost gauge flickering into life. Skylines also came with an extendable chin spoiler, a la 991 Turbo. Plenty of nostalgic cool there then, but definitely not as intriguing as the four-door Skyline GTS that also makes an appearance. Wonder if NISMO could work its magic on that?

See here

 

 

[AdeV]

Wow, cheesier than a fondue set - but something about it just makes me want one.....

Must....resist.....ebay.......

[Amirhussain]

Didn't even know about the R31...

[dry664]

Fabulous. Inspired me to trawl ebay for used R32's but ended up getting these instead....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Synthetic-Feather-...

[dtmpower]

Didn't know about R31 * look at the R30

[DUMBO100]

That's certainly 80's and Japanese, the car has no styling, apart from the natty, fold down chin spoiler but I'd actually drive that very happily. The music is still playing in my head

[WMP]

All I can say is "WOW", over 8 mins of retro Japaneses insania!

Matt - are NSIMO a sub-division of NISMO?

[Geoffcapes]

Looks like a Renault 21 from the front!

Truly awful looking. So why do I want one????

[Matt Bird]

WMP said:

All I can say is "WOW", over 8 mins of retro Japaneses insania!

Matt - are NSIMO a sub-division of NISMO?

Ahem. They're not, not sure how that one slipped through to be honest; apologies. I've seen 'NISMO' that many times this week that most words are starting to resemble the Nissan Motorsport acronym! Addressed now and will of course do everything to prevent future mishaps.

Cheers,


Matt

[Jazzy Jefferson]

"R31, Pre GTR Days"

Not quite. In fact, not by a long shot.

[grosserbaby]

Bring out the Branston.

[diddly69]

That ad was intense

[Daston]

I am sure that the fight music in Final Fantasy 7 & 8 sounded just like the music used at the start lol

[andrewrob]

That automatic front spoiler is cool! Does any other car have a front spoiler that does that (apart from the recent hypercars with active aero)?

[Hairouts]

I think the Alfa 90 had an extending chin spoiler..

[Hairouts]

The speedo wasn't reading 80mph, but 80km/h. That makes it around 50mph.

[c_seven]

I may have lost a small piece of my mind watching all 8 mins of that. My favourite bit was the cutaway to the skipping development team with the 'We, Motor Sports' super. Amazing.

[j_s14a]

andrewrob said:

That automatic front spoiler is cool! Does any other car have a front spoiler that does that (apart from the recent hypercars with active aero)?

JZA80 Toyota Supra and Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO.

[andrewrob]

j_s14a said:

andrewrob said:

That automatic front spoiler is cool! Does any other car have a front spoiler that does that (apart from the recent hypercars with active aero)?

JZA80 Toyota Supra and Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO.

Never knew that!

[possibletowel]

so shockingly 80s........so much want!

[Greg 172]

Holy shiz! That deployable chin spoiler (merely 'extendable' doesn't do it justice). Also liking that the engine(?) has something to with PLASMA...