For a certain generation who grew up with “Gran Turismo” on the Sony PlayStation, the Nissan Skyline GT-R of the R34 generation sold at the turn of the century is a hero car that is more desirable than anything a prancing horse or an angry bull on the hood.

Adding to the mystique of the car is the fact that it was never officially sold in the US, although a handful have managed to get away with it by both legal and less legal means.

One was just sold on Bring a Trailer for $ 315,187 and brought into the country by legal means, particularly the NHTSA’s show or display rules. As the listing shows, the buyer must be aware that the rules limit the use of the car to 2,500 miles per year. The buyer must also apply for a new exhibition or exhibition permit from the NHTSA.

The restriction did not discourage bidding. We’re not surprised as the car appears to be a particularly clean example of a 1999 Skyline GT-R V-Spec finished in delicious Midnight Purple II. For the 1999 model year, only 282 examples were painted in this way.

1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R34) – Photo credit: Bring a Trailer

The speedometer lists about 64,000 kilometers (almost 40,000 miles), of which about 500 are from the current owner. The car is in Denver, Colorado and has a clean state title.

Like all R34 GT-Rs, the car has a 6-speed manual transmission, all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering and a 2.6-liter in-line 6 with twin turbocharging. The engine officially has 276 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, although this is known to be an understated number to meet an earlier agreement between Japanese automakers to cap power to 276 horsepower for safety reasons. The V-Spec class adds, among other things, a standard limited-slip differential at the rear.

1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R34) - Photo credit: Bring a Trailer

1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R34) – Photo credit: Bring a Trailer

According to the listing, this particular car underwent a major service last December at Blue Chip Services in Englewood, Colorado. The work performed included replacing the timing belt, water pump, spark plugs, ignition coils, oxygen sensor and valve covers, as well as cleaning the injection nozzles and adding fresh oil and coolant.

What about the 25-year rule for simply importing classic cars into the USA? The R34 Skyline won’t be registered until 2024, but the rule already allows R32 and R33 generations to be imported, and the GT-R versions of these cars have a similar mechanical setup to the R34 GT-R.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here