Tamiya 959 唔算touring 前身, very unique concepts and very different designs. In 1985 or 86, when Porsche released their 959 as race car, the technology and race results was amazing , I am sure that was partly why Tamiya got inspired to copy this car into 1/12 scale.
Touring car got to go back to Tamiya Skyline when Tamiya convert their Manta Ray buggy into another product to sell and make some $$. But it turn out to be rather successful. The rest is history.