Fans of the Gran Turismo Sony PlayStation game will remember this. The Nissan Skyline R33 Nismo 400R. It doesn’t get much better.
This was an icon in the game and one sought-after prize model. If it wasn’t for the game, we don’t think many enthusiasts outside Japan would even know it existed. That’s how exclusive it was.
And now a real-life, full-size example has popped up for auction in Japan. It is being listed via Facebook page Nippon2U, which specialises in buying cars in Japan for Australian customers.
The example up for auction is a 1996 model GT-R 400R coated in LM blue, and it features those iconic 18- by 10-inch Nismo LM-GT1 wheels, painted in white.
It looks to be all original, at least in terms of styling and interior, with all aero bits in place including the sculpted bonnet, various intakes in lower front end, and a nice wing at the back.
The 400R was designed and developed by Nismo, and engineered by REINIK. The RB26 engine was given a larger bore and stroke, uprated conrods and forged pistons, bigger cams, higher-flow turbochargers, and custom manifolds and oil system.
On paper the result was 400hp, or 298kW, up from the standard 206kW rating of the regular GT-R. However, many observers reckoned it produced a lot more than that.
It’s understood Nismo planned to produce 100 examples of the 400R, but the total figure wasn’t reached because production of the R33 had stopped by 1998. This made it a real collector’s item in the early 2000s.
Overall, there were apparently 44 units ever made according to gtr-registry.com, making this blue example one very rare treat. It is listed as build number 31 of 55 units (we can’t find official confirmation of the total build numbers), and it features just 56,000km on the clock.
If you’re interested (like we are) we suggest you head over to Nippon2U right now and let them know you want it. They can bid for you. We hope you have a big wallet though as the starting price is 80,000,000 yen, or about AU$900,000.
