It’s not easy having Godzilla as your younger brother, but the R31 Skyline is an interesting guy too. For example, it was released on August 31, 1985, during a time when Japan was undergoing an industry-wide transition from fender mirrors to door mirrors. As a result, the R31 could be ordered with a door mirror on the driver’s side and a fender mirror on the passenger side as a no-cost option. Nissan only offered the asymmetrical mirror for a little over a year, until September 24, 1986. We’ve never seen dozens of R31s but never one so equipped. Here’s a shot from the brochure. It’s probably an extremely rare option. Happy R31 Day from JNC!
It’s sort of like the Nissan Z31 300ZX model. Over the years and generations, the Z car had become bloated, heavier, and further away from its mission. Cars like this could have been reality checks to the engineers, telling them it’s time to go and start from fresh. Look at the Z32.
Same with the Mazda Miata NC; not as praised as the other generations, and almost a “prelude” to the ND, which went back to its roots.
Four doors are the best !! Happy R31 day JNCers.