Latest news with #NissanSkylineGT-R
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Godzilla Takes A Bath: Watch A Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 Get Professionally Detailed
Read the full story on Backfire News Just because the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 just became legal to import into the US doesn't mean they're all clean as a whistle. After all, these third generation Godzillas, the ones many revere as the best ever made, have been used outside this country for a quarter of a one get a full professional detailing, including laser and dry ice cleaning, is relaxing and educational. After all, if you live in the US you probably haven't seen all the nooks and crannies of the R34. After all, I AM Detailing is famous for not just washing, vacuuming out, and wiping down cars but for cleaning up the chassis, engine compartment, and more. These guys are thorough and their videos are incredible to watch. The process starts with the Nissan Skyline GT-R being put on a lift, the wheels removed, and a technician cleaning the chassis thoroughly. We're willing to bet most of you haven't seen Godzilla's belly like this before. After a nice wash the paint looks pretty good. But applying an iron remover in several rounds helps with serious contamination. From there, the Nissan receives paint correction, and it looks fantastic. Then I AM Detailing applies PPF. We know this practice is controversial among enthusiasts, detailers, etc. with some claiming PPF actually harms vehicles and others arguing it doesn't if done properly. Let us know where you fall on that issue. From there they laser clean the engine compartment, removing years of grime built up that doesn't come off just using a degreaser and scrub brush. All dressed up, under the hood looks ready for high-end shows. Same goes for the body after the PPF is applied along with ceramic coating. The JDM icon is ready for the lucky owner to enjoy. Image via I AM Detailing/YouTube
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
R34 GT-R and Other JDM Imports Could Be Pricer Due to Trump's Tariffs
The JDM car market is small, but it could be affected by potential U.S. tariffs. Currently, Japanese market trucks are already subject to a 25 percent tariff, but ordinary passenger cars only get a 2.5 percent ding. Those importing expensive collectibles such as the R34 Nissan GT-R could face tens of thousands in extra costs. Last month, the leaders of Japan's auto industry met with the Japanese government to discuss concerns about impending economic damage. Those concerns were, of course, about the possibility of incoming U.S. tariffs that will affect cars and parts imported from Canada and Mexico and the likelihood of similar tariffs being placed on Japanese imports. Not on the docket for those automakers—and perhaps an unexpected fallout from the current trade situation—is that used JDM imports may also be impacted. Japanese Domestic Market cars, the forbidden fruit that never officially made it to U.S. shores, are a drop in the bucket compared with the global auto trade. However, with the likes of the R34-chassis Nissan Skyline GT-R finally aging into importability under the 25-year Department of Transportation rules, we're at the stage where enthusiasts are going to be going after the last of the golden age of bubble-economy Japanese imports. Already, there are warehouses full of GT-Rs, lined up and just waiting for their build date to hit that 25-year mark. R34 Skylines were never inexpensive, and they've only become more collectible and more expensive as U.S. eligibility grew closer. More than just appealing to JDM enthusiasts, the car's presence in the Fast and Furious movies and the Grand Turismo video games made the GT-R a household name. The special-edition versions are now easily six-figure cars, and slapping an extra 25 percent tariff on top of them is going to hurt. Also an issue is a possible spike in shipping costs. Japanese manufacturers of new cars are looking to fill up their U.S. supply of foreign manufactured cars before the tariffs go into effect, and that means cargo ships are full. The JDM market is small potatoes compared with the regular market, and increased demand for shipping may price out importers. On the flip side of this, if tariffs end up reducing demand for Japanese-built new cars, JDM imports might become less expensive. Currently, the tiny kei trucks you might see running around are already hit with a 25 percent tariff under the well-known 'chicken tax' legislation. Generally, these are inexpensive little trucks, so the added cost isn't a particular issue. Most JDM vehicles are currently hit with a 2.5 percent importation tax, and if this balloons, there'll be fewer potential bargains out there. With a strong U.S. dollar versus a relatively weak Japanese yen, the JDM market has been pretty tempting of late. Things are further helped by a supply glut, as Japan stopped exporting used cars to Russia—a major market for its used cars—sometime around the start of the war in Ukraine. If the U.S. market for JDM cars dries up, many of them will instead end up in Australia and New Zealand, both of which are already a paradise for JDM cars. In the meantime, if you were saving up for your favorite Japanese-only model that you'd raced so many times in Gran Turismo, it'd be a good idea to put a little extra aside. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why the Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R Is a Modern Classic
Some car collectors may have been puzzled by something that began happening earlier this decade: Out of nowhere, examples of the R34-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R suddenly started popping up for sale on the U.S. secondary market. Not only that, but the sports car, which cost $45,000 when it debuted at the tail end of the last century, was going for as much as ten times that amount. Of course, there was nothing strange about any of this to enthusiasts familiar with Japanese domestic market (JDM) cars. The sudden surge of interest wasn't just because the car known as 'Godzilla' is one of the greatest performance vehicles in the country's history or because it featured prominently in the fourth Fast & Furious movie (though neither factor hurt). It was primarily because, two decades after going out of production, the car was finally becoming eligible under the 'Show or Display' exemption, allowing it to finally be legally imported to the U.S. More from Robb Report Magarigawa Is One of the Best Racetrack Clubs in the World, and We Just Drove It Spring-Break Travel Prices Have Hit a Record High This Year Japan Hit a Record 37 Million Tourists Last Year The R34 Skyline is no longer the unicorn it once was, but that hasn't dampened enthusiasm for it any. Here are five reasons why so many JDM-loving enthusiasts were so willing to wait so long to get their hands on the legendary speed machine. Best of Robb Report The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast The World's Best Superyacht Shipyards The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht Click here to read the full article. The Skyline GT-R is now widely considered to be a great sports car, but it hasn't always been viewed this way. The first iteration of the car—which was released by the Prince Motorcar Company—arrived on the scene in 1957 as a luxury sedan. The vehicle has shed some of its premium trappings over the years, but a four-door carrying the name continues to be sold in its native Japan. A sporty model called the Skyline GT-R—the abbreviation stands for 'Gran Turismo-Racing—wouldn't make its debut until 1969 but was discontinued four years and two generations later. Nissan brought back the model in 1989 and it's this version, the third-generation R32, that laid the groundwork for the vehicle to become the legend that it is today. The R32, R33, R34 generations make up the Skyline GT-R holy trinity. When the model resurfaced at the end of the 1980s following a 16-year hiatus, it shared little with the compact but peppy touring cars that had preceded it. The modern-day Skyline GT-R was a high-performance beast that featured a potent inline-six with all-wheel-drive (AWD) system. It also could hold its own against more glamorous sports cars that cost significantly more. Each member of the trio has its partisans, with preference usually coming down to where the car was first encountered, whether that be an early Gran Turismo game (the R32), Import Tuner magazine (R33), or FF4 (R34). For our money, it's hard to beat the model's final evolution, though. In production from 1999 to 2002, the fifth-generation Skyline GT-R paired commanding style with a surprisingly twin-turbo inline-six that made it the closest thing Japan had to a supercar at the time. The return of the Skyline GT-R coincided with Nissan's attempts to build a more competitive Group A race car. The result was a true high-performance vehicle that dominated on road and track, earning it the nickname 'Godzilla' from the Australian automotive press. All three generations came equipped with the same twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter inline-six mated to a six-speed manual, which, in the range-topping R34 M-Spec Nür, makes 330 hp. But that figure is strictly unofficial due to a 'gentleman's agreement' between the major Japanese automakers at the time to not introduce a car that made more than 276 hp (which was the official output for all versions of the modern-day Skyline GT-R). Regardless of the actual output, the combination of that engine and grip-maximizing AWD system meant the final version of the car could accelerate from zero to 62 mph in 4.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 186 mph. The R34 may have been high-tech back in its day—it features a 5.8-inch LCD screen that displays real-time readings and statistics—but it is analog as a high-performance vehicle gets by today's standards. Driving the car is work, something which only adds to its charm for a certain brand of enthusiasts. The Skyline GT-R's exalted status with enthusiasts and collectors also has something to do with the fact that it was never officially sold in the U.S. As beloved as the car may be today, it was never produced in huge numbers. Across the R32, R33, R34 generations, Nissan built just over 72,000 examples of the car, with the number decreasing with each successive iteration. It's likely because of this that the automaker never invested the money needed to modify the vehicle to meet U.S. safety and emission standards (the car was sold outside of Japan, though, including in Australia, New Zealand, and, briefly, the U.K.). But savvy collectors know there is a loophole called the 'Show or Display' exemption that allows historically important vehicles that don't meet regulations to be imported 25 years after they were built. It's this reason why examples of the Skyline GT-R, including the R34, are finally making it to our shores and selling consistently for six-figure sums. The last R34 Skyline GT-R was built in 2002—19 Z-Tune examples followed between then and 2007, but those are considered rebuilds—but the vehicle lives on. At the end of the model's fifth generation, Nissan decided it was time to separate the GT-R from the Skyline name. In the two-plus decades since, the Skyline moniker has been used to refer to a four-door executive car, which is still not sold in the U.S., and GT-R to a muscular sports car. The current GT-R, which is codenamed the R35, has been in production since 2007 and has done a more than able of living up to the expectations set by its predecessors. The car features a muscular design, a powerful twin-turbocharged V-6, and AWD. (Sadly, its stick shift has been replaced by a dual-clutch transmission) After 18 years, Nissan recently announced that the current version of the vehicle will wind up production later this year. It's unclear what will replace it, but there have been rumors that the next iteration will break even more from the past by featuring an electric powertrain.
