The R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R Is Officially Worth Supercar Money

Jun. 27, 2021 5:03 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz Auctions / 13 Comments

A Midnight Purple II example sold for more than an Ferrari F8 Tributo.

The legendary R34-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R has become so valuable in recent years, used examples in good condition cost more than a new 2021 Nissan GT-R. These cars are scarce in the United States because the Skyline was never federalized here. The only way to drive one legally in the US is to have one of the legally converted MotoRex cars, import one under the Show or Display law, or wait to bring the car into the country after it turns 25 years old.

Bring A Trailer recently listed a 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R, imported under the NHTSA Show or Display exemption. This example is one of only 282 finished in Midnight Purple II (LV4), which is why it qualified for the exemption. As you might guess, it sold for an insanely high number.

The final bid ended at $315,187, making it slightly more expensive than the record-breaking Millennium Jade M-Spec Nur model sold in 2020. Some extremely low-mileage examples have been priced at over $400,000, but this purple car is one of the best we've seen in the US. This GT-R appears to be in fantastic condition, with only 64,000 kilometers (around 40,000 miles) on the odometer.

It's worth remembering that a car brought in under Show or Display can only be driven 2,500 per year. With a price tag that rivals an Italian exotic, we assume the buyer of this Skyline GT-R has other vehicles to take to work.

With production starting in 1999, the average R34 Skyline GT-R can't be imported until 2024. With that date inching closer, R34 values have skyrocketed recently. By the time these cars are fully legal, we anticipate even the most average examples with no special prominence will command huge sums.

CarBuzz has briefly driven an R34 GT-R with its legendary 2.6-liter RB26DETT engine; we can assure you, it lives up to the hype. But if you want a similar experience for a lot less, the R32 and R33 GT-R generations are currently eligible for importation.