This Nissan Skyline competed in the Australian Touring Car Championships with great success, earning itself the nickname "Godzilla" after the fictional giant Japanese lizard which destroyed all before it. In this car's case, it blew away the local Australian competition which was provided by Ford and Holden. The Skyline won the premier race in the series at Bathurst in 1991 and 1992, and this model represents the 1992 winner. (The 1991 winning Skyline has also been released by Biante).
The R32 Skyline was introduced by Nissan in 1989 and race versions were quickly developed by Nismo (Nissan Motorsports International) to compete in both the Japanese and Australian Touring car championships. It proved outstandingly successful in both series. It boasted superb handling due to an advanced 4 wheel drive system and Nissans variable 4 wheel steering system. When the handling prowess of the car was combined with it's powerful 2.6 litre turbocharged engine it made for an unbeatable package.
This model was one of the first 1:18th releases by Kyosho (but not in this livery) back in 1990 or 1991. Biante managed to get Kyosho to re-release their R32 Skyline in the colours of the 1992 Bathurst winner. Hence this model was only made available through Biante stockists and not from Kyosho themselves. It should have "Winfield" cigarette logos on the bonnet and doors, but due to government restrictions on putting cigarette advertisements on "toys" in Australia, this model lacks them. It is possible to obtain them from specialist decal suppliers, but to date I haven't done so.
As it is based on an early Kyosho release from 1990-91 it is not as detailed a model as one might expect from a more recent Kyosho/Biante release. It looks good overall with an accurate body shape (although the fit of the doors appears poor on this one which is odd as the "Calsonic" Skyline R32 that I have does not have this problem), a detailed engine bay and reasonable interior detail. It is let down by it's somewhat unrealistic looking wheels and the total lack of brake detail (a particular area I'm fond of! I just love detailed brake discs and calipers!). The detailing in the boot is odd looking too, and I'm not sure what the network of pipes and tubes is supposed to represent. It is possibly meant to be the heart of an active suspension system, but I'm not sure if the real car had such a system. Perhaps someone can e-mail me with the answer!
