One of the most interesting aspects of running this website is going into the analytics (reporting on the website performance) and seeing what pages are most frequently read.
Out of more than 500 articles since the site launched several years ago, the most popular article to date has been one about why the Nissan Skyline is illegal in the United States, outside of a few legally-complied examples such as the ‘Show Or Display’ ones.
People love the Nissan Skyline – and it’s not really that hard to see why the Nissan Skyline is so popular.
If you read the article on why the Skyline is illegal, you’ll get a full breakdown on the different legal methods of bringing a Skyline into the United States, but long story short the “easy way” is to wait for the car to be 25 years old.
Once a car is 25 years old it can more easily be imported into the United States without requiring any special exemptions.
Therefore, the Internet has been abuzz over the past couple of weeks with the exciting news that the last true generation of Nissan Skyline, the legendary R34, is now able to be imported into the United States under the 25 year rule (because as of 1st May 2023, the earliest R34s are now 25 years old).
Exciting, right?
Very exciting … but there’s a catch, and it’s a big one if you want the most desirable Nissan Skyline of them all.
The most desirable of the Skylines – the GT-R and ‘king of JDM‘ – isn’t 25 yet. As per the official Nissan website, while the R34 generation of the Skyline debuted in 1998 it wasn’t until 1999 when the first R34 GT-R rolled off the production line – meaning that the R34 GT-R won’t be easily importable until next year (2024)
This isn’t a problem if you find a 1998 R34 Skyline, such as one of the lower specification models like the following four door R34 I spotted in Kyoto on a recent trip to Japan, but you won’t be able to find a 1998 R34 GT-R unless there are some shenanigans going on with the claimed age of the vehicle.
So set a reminder for early 2024 if you want to legally (and easily) import an R34 GT-R into the United States. Also make sure you pick the winning lottery numbers or the next hot meme stock, as you’re going to need some serious cash to buy one with the way prices have gone in recent years – and this will probably only get worse with easier access for American collectors with deep pockets.
If you are thinking of buying a Nissan Skyline, then read our R34 GT-R buyer’s guide here. If you are going to spend up large, then you want to make sure you are getting your hands on a good example!
