Nissan

Nissan Motor Company Ltd. is a Japanese based automotive manufacturer established in 1933 and is one of the largest automotive groups. They are headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. Since 1999, Nissan has been part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, a partnership between Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and French automaker Renault.

The company, founded by Masujiro Hashimoto with the help of a few investors, began as Kaishinsha Motor Car Works on 1st July 1911; became the first Japanese automotive manufacturer. Their first car rolled out in 1914 named DAT, an acronym of the company’s investors’ surnames: Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. After several rebranding and change in ownerships, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. was eventually owned by Nihon Sangyo and Hitachi. The name Nissan came into existence from the abbreviation of Nihon Sangyo used on Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In 1966, Nissan merged with Prince Motor Company which made the existence of the Skyline possible. The first cars named GT-R Skyline were produced during 1969-1972 under the model code KPGC10. Then, in 1989, the GT-R was revived as the BNRR32: ‘R32’ Skyline GT-R. The formidable technology and performance of the R32 GT-R prompted the Australian motoring publication ‘Wheels’ to nickname the GT-R "Godzilla" in its July 1989 edition.

Nismo (Nissan Motorsport International Limited) is the in-house tuning, motorsports and performance division of Nissan. Formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departments, Nismo cars have participated in JSPC, JTCC, 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona. They currently participate in the Super GT and the Blancpain GT Series.