is a Japanese automotive engineer, and was responsible for the development of the eighth generation R32 Nissan Skyline including the BNR32 Skyline GT-R.

History

Early years

Ito was born in

Takehara is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on November 3, 1958. As of 2016, the city has an estimated population of 26,035 and a population density of 220 persons per km2. The total area is 118.30 km2. Ōkun ...

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

on March 7, 1937 as a son of a rice store owner.Naganori Ito - Designer's emotion over the Skyline
Nissan Motor Official Website (Japanese) July 22, 2008 He graduated from

Hiroshima University is a Japanese national university located in Higashihiroshima and Hiroshima, Japan. Established in 1929, it was chartered as a university in 1949 following the merge of a number of national educational institutions. History Under the Nationa ...

in March 1959 and joined Fuji Precision Industries (later

Prince Motor Company The Prince Motor Company (Japanese: ) was an automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes for the Japanese Army in World War II, e.g. ...

). In April 1959, he was assigned to the development of the chassis of the first and the second generations Skylines

ALSI Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in W ...

and S50. After the merger of Prince and

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

, he was involved in the development of Skyline series,

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

and Leopard F30. After January 1982, he became the chief engineer of Nissan Prairie (M10) and Nissan March (Micra) K10.

Appointed the Skyline chief engineer

In 1984,

Shinichiro Sakurai was a Japanese engineer inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of FameThe ...

, Ito’s longtime “teacher” since he joined Fuji Precision/Prince, became ill and had to stay at the hospital for a while. Sakurai’s “No. 1 student” Ito was suddenly assigned to complete the design of the seventh generation R31 Skyline which Sakurai was responsible for. But the only thing Ito did about the R31 was preparing and submitting the model registration documents to the

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法 ...

. In August 1985, the new R31 Skyline (so-called the “7th Skyline” in Japan) debuted, but it got a bad reputation from longtime Skyline users, the Skyline maniacs and car critics in Japan. He made up his mind to overcome such disgrace. He became the leader of the development team of the next generation Skyline ( R32) from a beginning.

R32 Skyline and revival of GT-R

In May 1989, the eighth generation R32 Skyline was released. Furthermore, in August 1989, the BNR32 Skyline GT-R was finally launched. The name of GT-R revived sixteen years after the KPGC110 Skyline GT-R disappeared in the history. Ito earned his reputation from this.

Current years

After the debut of the R32 Skyline, he was appointed the executive director of

Autech is a Nissan Motorsports & Customizing division focused on tuning and converting Nissan cars. Autech was a subsidiary company of Nissan from its establishment in 1986 to 2022, when it was merged with Nismo. History Autech was founded in 1986 as ...

(Nissan’s subsidiary) and later the technical adviser of

NISMO , abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departmen ...

. He is currently serves as adviser to Autech and the honorary director of the Prince & Skyline Museum in Okaya,

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

. His former younger colleague Kozo Watanabe (chief engineer of the R33 and the

R34 R34 may refer to: * R34 (New York City Subway car) * R34 (South Africa) * HM Airship ''R.34'', a rigid airship of the Royal Air Force * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * Nissan Skyline (R34), a mid-size car * Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34), a sports ca ...

Skylines) is the adviser to the Museum.

Quotes

*''During my

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

years, I learned what the Prince Motors spirit is from many people. Especially from Mr.

Jiro Tanaka is a Japanese aircraft and automotive engineer. Career Tanaka graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in March 1939 and joined the Tachikawa Aircraft Company in April 1939. In October of the same year, he enlisted in the Army and evalu ...

, who supervised the Prince Engineering Department, and from Mr.

Shinichiro Sakurai was a Japanese engineer inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of FameThe ...

, who was my direct boss.''ITO, Naganori “Pursue the Run – the Development of the R32 Skyline GT-R” P17 April 18, 2005, Grand Prix Publishing Co., Ltd. (Japanese) *'' Sakurai-san was examining me if I could overcome any kinds of difficulties he assigns. I heard that a lion parent kicks the children down into the abyss of a ravine, and brings up the kids who can climb up. The “Sakurai School” was just like a “Lion School”.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Naganori 1937 births Living people Japanese automotive engineers Nissan people People from Hiroshima Prefecture Hiroshima University alumni