2001 Nissan Skyline GT-R V Spec-II For Sale Beats the 25-Year Import Law
It holds the "holy grail" designation by most every import enthusiast's wish list and even raises the eyebrow of a substantial number of those that don't usually dabble in Japanese cars. Serving as the most popular model of the legendary Nissan Skyline family, this 2001 V-Spec II takes the drool-factor up quite a few notches and is being made available through Mecum Auto Auctions' Monterey visit from August 18-20.
The Paul Walker/Fast & Furious Connection
If this R34 looks familiar with its gold and black decals and matte bronze TE37, Mecum states that this vehicle was used as a demo car to promote various Fast and Furious movies and was in the care of the late Paul Walker for an extended amount of time. The late actor reportedly racked up around 18,000 miles on the car. In addition, it was also used in BF Goodrich ads around the same time.
Wait just a minute; a 2001 Skyline is too young to meet the federal government's 25-year import law, which forbids any Japanese (or other foreign market) vehicle manufactured less than two and a half decades ago to legally hit U.S. streets, right? That's what makes this example so unique. Given a pardon by the U.S. Government, its lucky new owner can take pride in the fact that their street legal R34 is able to hit their local freeways about four years earlier than the 2026 import law target date.
Shady Times
Registered as a 1999 model, its pardon is a bit of a shock given the cars burry past. A deep dive by the EPA and Los Angeles Sheriff's office zeroed in on importer Motorex, which was importing Nissan Skylines for eager customers in the 2000s. The service included sourcing the vehicle from overseas, physically importing it, taking care of the paperwork, and using an experienced third party to help meet crash and emissions guidelines to legalize a number of vehicles.
Those guidelines included lowering the crash bars inside the Skyline's doors, adding multiple catalytic converters, and even more to satisfy the Department of Transportation's specifications. A multi-faceted series of events, the process was both lengthy and costly and took its toll on the business, as the owner was importing cars and collecting customer money much faster than the vehicles were being cleared and delivered to their new owners.
A snowball effect resulted, exacerbated by what employees would refer to as excessive partying and a lavish lifestyle that left many without the car's they paid for. Add to that a theft report filed by Motorex that claimed multiple vehicles (for some reason left outside overnight) has been mysteriously stolen, and authorities began taking a closer look.
What was uncovered included critical legal processes being skipped entirely and even in the face of speculation, undocumented Skylines steadily increased. That is, until the D.O.T. put a stop to importing pre-and-post 1996-99 Nissan Skylines entirely, while Motorex had its importer status pulled. A series of events, including physical assault, court hearings, jail time, the federal impounding of illegal vehicles, and so much more added to the tangled story of the Motorex fallout.
Miraculously, a handful of R34 Skyline GT-R that Motorex had imported actually received the Governments pardon and were granted bond release on the condition that they were made NHTSA and D.O.T. compliant - like this one now being offered by Mecum.
Mildly Upgraded
This is number 672 of 1,855 V-Spec IIs ever produced, and aside from its time in the spotlight with Paul Walker and appearing in print ads, it also has some choice modifications on board. The original 2.6L I-6 and 6-speed transmission remain inside the Bayside Blue model, updated with Nismo carbon fiber intakes, a GReddy intake manifold, radiator, and Trust exhaust. GReddy also gave the car a once-over, performing a complete tune up recently.
Along with the 2000s-era graphics, the R34 was lowered with Tein coilovers complete with adjustable EDFC and TE37 Saga wheels were added. The cabin remains almost entirely original, the only notable additions being an ancient Momo Apache steering wheel and Sparco harnesses. Meticulously maintained, the car is in incredible condition both inside and out and estimated to fetch somewhere in the neighborhood of $750,000-$850,000 during Mecum Auctions' Monterey visit later this week.
Given its history and exclusive status, it's probably worth every penny.
You may also like
We got all excited when Honda introduced the new Euro-market HR-V (known in some parts of the world as the Vezel), but Honda was quick to tell us to calm the hell down—this wasn't the subcompact HR-V we were looking for. The U.S., Honda told us, would be getting a new HR-V all its own. Not to cast aspersions on our friends at Honda, but any time an automaker tells us something like this—any of them, not just Honda—we have to wonder if we aren't just being put off.Today, Honda released sketches of the North American-market 2023 HR-V (actually, they look like paintings, which is rather cool). And no, we weren't being put off—this definitely is a different vehicle. Look at the back doors, and what do you see? Door handles on the body. The new Euro-HR-V/Vezel has its rear door handles concealed in the door pillar, just like the current (and soon-to-be-outgoing) HR-V.From what the paint-sketches show, North America won the HR-V lottery, because if the real thing looks similar, it's going to be a much cuter critter than the HR-V going to Europe. We like the big blacked-out grille—it's rather Kia-esque, from the days when ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer was trying to make all of his Kias look like Audis. It's certainly a better look than the chromed confusion of the bigger CR-V. (Honda has a new CR-V coming for 2023, and we hope it looks this good.) Speaking of Audis (which we were, weren't we?), the new HR-V's bulbous back end bears quite a resemblance to that of the Audi Q3. We're hoping the swank exterior style is an indicator of what we'll see inside. We rather like the HR-V, and we've always thought a more upscale version would do well with buyers.And what lurks under that handsome skin? Honda's two-sentence statement accompanying the sketches helps little. As a rule we don't copy and paste press releases, but we'll make an exception, given the dearth of other info here: "Honda kicks off its Year of the Crossover with a sneak peek at the all-new sporty and versatile 2023 HR-V. The all-new HRV will launch in North America this year." Okay, so that yields no information. If we had to guess—which, obviously, we do—we'd predict that one of the new HR-V's powertrains will be the 212-hp hybrid powertrain from the Euro-market HR-V, which is based around a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine.We assume there will be a non-hybrid version, and as we've complained about the current HR-V's leisurely acceleration, it wouldn't surprise us if its 1.8 liter engine is replaced by something with a little more gumption, perhaps the 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated engine from the entry-level Civic and (if we're lucky) Honda's 1.5-liter turbo, also found in the spectacular new Civic.The fact that the sketches show the HR-V dashing through the snow with snowboards strapped to the roof rack indicates an all-wheel-drive option. That may seem like a no-brainer for an SUV, but remember that some entry-level sport-utes (Toyota CH-R and Nissan Kicks, to name two) don't offer AWD; today's HR-V does offer AWD, however.Whatever the final HR-V looks like and however it's configured, this teaser has done its job: We are genuinely excited to see what the real thing looks like. We don't need to tell you what a hot market segment the compact SUV field is, one chock full of new and credible contenders like the Toyota Corolla Cross, the Kia Seltos, and our pick of the bunch, the Subaru Crosstrek. We're looking forward to seeing how the new 2023 Honda HR-V stacks up.
This entire issue is devoted to exploring the increasingly electrified and automated "inEVitable" future of mobility, looking 15 years or so into the down the road. Because that's kind of what this page always sets out to do, I'll spend this month's word budget on a highlight reel of sorts, describing a future world in which the best concepts explained in previous Technologue columns have successfully reached production to keep the world's inhabitants and goods moving sustainably.Note that separate online stories (scan the QR code on this page with your phone for more) dedicated to each of these headings will delve deeper into the present status and prognosis of these technologies, without rehashing any of the nitty-gritty science.Carbon-Free Combustion Forever!Combustion still powers certain vehicles, but running bio- or e-fuels, they emit no new carbon. Most that run on alcohols burn biobutanol, which nearly matches gasoline's energy content and octane rating (problems with low vapor pressure were resolved post-Biden). Most vehicles run on chemically equivalent gasolines assembled from smaller molecules. Nacero Blue and Green gas is built from methane sourced from natural gas that would have been flared and from landfill gases, while the rest comes from scrubbing CO2 from the atmosphere and combining it with cleanly electrolyzed hydrogen (see Prometheus fuels and Haru Oni/Porsche).How We Got to Cheap, Long-Range, Quick-Charging EVsEvery aspect of the EV was holistically reimagined, and vehicles with different missions look and drive differently. Integrating the battery into the structure with carbon electrodes and electrolyte resins makes sense in the smallest cars (and electric planes). Sports cars needing to rapidly store and release energy leverage both ultracapacitors and batteries. Lithium-sulfur chemistry has helped triple batteries' energy density, and solid-state batteries that can recharge in minutes are now a reality. The lowest-cost EVs use cheap reluctance motors, with torque smoothed by Dynamic Motor Drive tech. Retooling after Chipocalypse brought us better gallium-nitride chips that enabled faster charging, and building on manufacturing efficiencies pioneered by Lucid Motors helped further reduce cost. Finally, mining the Clarion-Clipperton Zone seabed for polymetallic nodules greatly eased supply-chain pressures for manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt.Infrastructure Improvements for Better DrivingAll new EVs now support wireless "opportunity charging" when stopped at intersections (a rarity now that vehicles and infrastructure are all connected and smart), or even when driving on remote stretches of highway. Some of that electricity is now provided by smaller, more localized pebble-bed nuclear reactors running on thorium or another fuel as easily stored or disposed. Major roadways have all been mapped with ground-penetrating radar for another weatherproof means of precisely geo-locating autonomous vehicles, and most roadways are now made of low-CO2 concrete featuring silica fume particles or magnesium. Bridge supports use carbon-negative algal carbon-fiber panels sandwiching similar concrete that incorporates self-healing sodium-silicate capsules to greatly extend the bridge's useful life.Life on Board a FuturemobileIn-car connectivity took a huge step forward when fragmented aperture technology democratized satellite internet, and with so many passengers looking at a phone or tablet, airbags more safely deploy from the ceiling, forcing devices into our laps instead of our faces. Anti-odor chitosan seat fabrics and odor-canceling "white smell" dispensers please our noses. A transparent "braille screen" allows blind passengers to "see" the passing scenery, while sighted passengers amuse themselves by watching claytronic "solid holograms" enact miniature 3-D plays. Onboard sensors monitor our health and forecast injury statistics to first responders in the (increasingly unlikely) event of a crash. Alas, Nissan's proposed "thinking cap" electroencephylography system of controlling the car via brain waves is still on the drawing board.The Vehicle ItselfAs crashes become rare, designers gain some regulatory freedom, and designs once deemed aerodynamically problematic become feasible with low-pressure air nozzles that employ the Coandă effect to keep air attached to curved surfaces, reducing drag. Impossibly thin roof pillars inflate in a crash to increase their strength. Tires now feature rubber made from kudzu enzymes, self-healing 3-D-printed seasonal-design treads, and either self-inflating devices (since Goodyear and Coda settled their patent dispute) or airless tech like Michelin's Tweel. Spherical tires have reached production, but only for very low-speed delivery applications, so don't hold your breath for Audi's RSQ I, Robot movie concept. At least not yet.
Funky riffs on SUVs, crossovers, and trucks have been common enough throughout the past two decades, but back near the turn of the century, automakers concocted all sorts of products that landed with a splash but never took the market by storm. Nowadays, trucks with enormous horsepower figures like the Ram TRX or coupelike SUVs such as the BMW X6 are sought after by buyers with the desire (and the cash) to drive something a bit more radical than everyone else. Check out these 10 vehicles from the relatively recent past that would have been seen as much cooler if they first came to market today.
0 Comments