Equipment
Twin-turbocharged 2.6L inline-six paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. Additional features include ATESSA all-wheel drive, an electronically-controlled limited-slip rear differential, HICAS rear steering, Brembo brakes, 18? wheels, front and rear spoilers, a carbon fiber rear diffuser, automatic climate control, a multifunction LCD, and a cassette stereo.
Condition
This GT-R, for example, was brought into the U.S. under the Show or Display exemption. This rule allows cars that do not conform to U.S. safety and emissions standards to be imported for the purpose of show or display. At this time, only two models of R34 GT-R are approved for import under this criteria: the 1999 V-Spec finished in the color Midnight Purple II and the 2002 M-Spec Nur. Show or Display also limits use to 2500 miles per year, so daily driving is out of the question. It has 64,000 km (about 40K miles).
Market commentary
We’ve been predicting for some time that the R34 (1999–02) generation of Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, not yet fully street legal in the United States, will be the most collectible of the bunch. Now we have proof. For those out of the Skyline loop, the R34-generation Skyline GT-R is a white-hot commodity right now, and prices are going up by leaps and bounds. The model is only expected to heat up as these cars start to become available for general import to the U.S. under the 25-year rule. For comparison, the previous record for a Skyline GT-R sat at $316,553 for a 10-kilometer 2002 V-Spec II Nur sold in 2018. The V-Spec II Nur is higher on the GT-R food chain, showing just how far the auction market for R34s has moved. And those are just the public sales that can be tracked; we would not be at all surprised to learn of private sales that are already occurring above this mark. The seller indicated via Instagram livestream, after the sale, that they paid “mid 100s” for it last year, so a flip for $320K is more than a 100 percent profit. Yet we wouldn’t be surprised if, someday, even this price looks quaint. In the JDM world, this offering is as significant as a Ferrari 250 GTO is to Ferrari fans. More broadly, as millennial collectors mature, the R34 GT-R might one day become as necessary a blue-chip in a serious collection as a Gullwing Mercedes or a ’60s Ferrari is today. And watch out—a high-profile sale like this is certain to coax other, lower kilometer examples to market. Stay sharp, because this record may not last too long.