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1972 - Skyline 1600, 1800, 2000 - C110
The C110 (nickname: Ken & Mary) was launched in September 1972 and three
series were available: the 1600, 1.6 L G16 I4, 1800, 1.8 L G18 I4, also
included a GT and the well-appointed GTX version - 2000 2.0 L L20 I6 -
130Hp (96 kW, 172 Nm).
After the introduction of stronger exhaust emission regulations in 1975,
the engine was equipped with an electronic gasoline injection (EGI)
system and the model names were changed to GT-E and GTX-E.
In February 1976 it became the C111 (some versions appeared in March, May
and June), which complied with the 1976 gas emission regulations.
1973 - Datsun 240K
The body styles were, once again, four-door sedan, two-door hardtop
coupé, and five-door station wagon. The C110 was more fussy in its
styling than its predecessor, particularly so in wagon form, where
unusually for a wagon design, no windows were fitted between the C
and D pillars. The C110 was the first version to feature the round
rear lights, typical of later Skyline designs.
The C110 Skyline was better known as the "Ken & Mary" or "Kenmeri" Skyline,
stemming from the advertisement campaign in Japan at the time which featured
a young couple (Ken and Mary) who relaxed and enjoyed the countryside in
Ken and Mary's Skyline. The ads were highly successful and perhaps as a
result the C110 was sold in very large numbers in Japan.
It sold just as well in Australia (in a 2.4L 6-cylinder form, badged
as "Datsun 240K"), though few survive today. There, the 240K was about
the same price as a Ford Falcon GT or BMW 5 series, around $5000.
1972 - Skyline 2000GT-R - KGC110
The Nissan Skyline GT-R hardtop arrived in September 1972.
It was the first domestic car to have disc brakes front and rear.
This advanced engineering made it very popular, but production was halted at
197 units after stricter exhaust emission regulations were introduced.
The oil crisis saw many people preferring economy cars and high-performance
sports cars were looked down upon.
Nissan pulled out of Motor Racing, so there was no purpose to the GT-R.
It was not officially exported anywhere, although Nissan contemplated
exporting to Australia. Only 197 KPGC110 GT-Rs were ever sold in Japan,
through specialist Nissan Performance shops (before it was called NISMO).
This was the last GT-R for 16 years until the BNR32 in 1989.
There were six versions produced:
• 1600 - 1.6 L G16 I4, 95 hp (71 kW, 128 Nm)
• 1800 - 1.8 L G18 I4, 105 hp (78 kW, 150 Nm)
• 2000GT - 2.0 L L20 I4, 130 hp (97 kW, 170 Nm)
• 2000GT-X - 2.0 L L20 I6, 130 hp (97 kW, 170 Nm)
• 2000GT-R - 2.0 L S20 I6, 160 hp (118 kW, 180 Nm)
• 240K - 2.4 L L24 I6, 121 hp
Source: Prince - Nissan
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