Y2-Yay: These Cars From 2000 Are Legal to Import in 2025

The last couple months of the year are always exciting. We look forward to the holidays, eating good food, and we start planning out the New Year’s resolutions we’ll eventually break. Car fans always have even more to get excited about, because every time the calendar starts over, there’s a new batch of automobiles that turn 25 years old. Thanks to the federal so-called 25-year import rule, foreign market cars that reach that age become exempt from enough Department of Transportation red tape and regulations (though EPA compliance remains mandatory), that Americans can import them and register them in most states with relative ease.

Now, in late 2024, we’re looking ahead to 2025, and that means we’re also looking back to 2000. It was a big year for boy bands, video games, and reality TV, but the class of 2000 also brought in some notable cars worldwide that, in a few weeks, will start becoming legal for us to buy and drive. Honorable mentions include fun names like the Brilliance BS6, Dacia SupeRNova, Daewoo Tacuma, Mahindra Bolero, Mitsubishi Dion, Nissan Sylphy, Proton Waja, and UMM Alter 2000. But for the truly cool cars that turn 25 in ’25, read on…

2000-05 Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster

The list of General Motors sports cars that aren’t a Corvette is a short one, and in the 2000s it’s limited to the short-lived Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky twins.

Or is it? Look beyond our shores and you’ll see that the General sold another, earlier set of two-seater twins starting in 2000. They never came here originally but, ironically, they were based on a British car that did sell here, and did so in the thousands.

With changes to European crash and safety rules for the 2000 model year, Lotus needed to revamp its Elise. Since cash is always short at small sports car companies, Lotus reached an agreement with GM (its former corporate parent) where the Americans helped fund the development of the new Elise in exchange for a pair of Elise-based sports cars for Vauxhall (GM’s British subsidiary) and Opel (its German one).

Built by Lotus at the Lotus plant in Hethel from 2000 to 2005, the Vauxhall VX220/Opel Speedster pair nevertheless shares fewer than 10 percent of its parts with the Series 2 Elise. They ride on a slightly longer wheelbase version of the Lotus’ bonded and extruded aluminum chassis, and while the Series 2 Elises that sold in the U.S. got a 1.8-liter Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine and Toyota six-speed manual, GM obviously couldn’t stand for that. Its versions got a 2.2-liter, 145-hp Ecotec four-cylinder with a Getrag 5-speed manual. A 2.0-liter turbocharged version with 200hp arrived for 2003, and Vauxhall introduced a rare VXR220 version with 220hp as well as better suspension and brakes for 2004. Total production amounted to 5267 base cars, and 1940 Turbos.

The VX220/Speedster will always live in the tiny shadow of the Elise, and it’s probably best to look at them as a slightly more comfortable and civilized version of that car, although performance is comparable and their weight is similarly minuscule at around 2000 pounds. They’re also slightly less pretty, but still sharp-looking in a very 2000s way, and their vertically stacked twin exhaust tips are a neat touch. Parts on imported cars can be a headache in general, but the GM Ecotec came in Chevys and Pontiacs over here so engine bits shouldn’t be hard, and because it’s a bare-bones sports car there isn’t much else to go wrong. Plus, the Opel version came in left-hand drive, making it more usable on our roads.

2000-01 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition

Mitsubishi’s lineup might stink today, but flip the calendar back 25 years and things were a lot more exciting. Red Lancer Evolution VIs were duking it out with the blue-and-yellow Subarus on the special stages of the World Rally Championship (WRC), and road-going versions of Mitsubishi’s spiciest sedan were in showrooms. Well, not American showrooms. We had to wait a few more years for the Lancer Evo VIII.

The Evo VI came out in 1999 and therefore became eligible for import in 2024, but there’s another, hotter version of Mitsubishi’s World Rally weapon that’s about to turn 25. The Tommi Mäkinen Edition, aka the “TME”, debuted in December 1999 and went on sale a month later in celebration of the Finnish driver’s four WRC Drivers’ titles. It came with a more aggressive front bumper, embossed Recaro seats, wider Enkei wheels, and a Momo steering wheel. It was more than just flash, though, as the TME also got a quicker-spooling titanium turbine for the turbocharger, a lower ride height, and quicker steering. The upgrades are significant enough that some call it the “Evo 6.5.” Colors included Pyrenees Black Pearl, Scotia White, Canal Blue, Satellite Silver, and Passion Red, while trims included RS (stripped-down lightweight), GSR (full trim with power windows, climate control), and RS2 (a mix of both). Sources vary on production numbers, but a TME registry points to a little over 4000 units.

The scoops and stripes on this car look a little AutoZone-y to the uninitiated, but there’s a rally-bred rocket underneath, and examples have already sold for six figures in Europe. Expect them to bring similar numbers once they start making it over here.

2000-01 Audi RS 4 Avant

Introduced for 1995, the “B5” was the first generation for Audi’s A4, and American sales began in 1996. In late 1999 a new high-performance version called the S4 debuted, and this too came to the U.S. What didn’t come here was the RS4, which went on sale for the 2000 model year in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

A successor to the Porsche-developed and assembled RS2, the RS4 was only available as an Avant (station wagon in Audi-speak), and Cosworth developed its 2.7-liter, 90-degree, five-valve V-6 with alloy cylinder heads and two turbos for 375 hp and 325 lb-ft. A six-speed manual was the only transmission available, and the RS4 Avant uses Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive with a 50:50 default bias. Styling is somewhat conservative in true Audi fashion, but there are some subtle slits and bulges, and they came in some great colors like Imola Yellow and Nogaro Blue.

Everybody knows fast wagons are cool, and the B5 RS4 Avant is fast wagon royalty. A little over 6000 sold worldwide, and they’ll be highly prized among Audi fans once they’re legal to bring over.

2000-10 Alfa Romeo 147

Launched in October 2000, the 147 replaced the old 145 and 146. Alfa aimed it at the likes of the VW Golf and Audi A3, but in true Italian fashion, it’s far prettier than both. The 147 got the European Car of the Year award in 2001, and Alfa Romeo replaced it in 2010 with the Giulietta (not to be confused with the Giulia, the sedan we do get here).

The 147 is certainly a hot-looking hatch, but base cars are more mild, with a 1.6-liter, 104-hp four-cylinder. A 2.0-liter with 148 hp was also available, as was the 147 GTA, which got a 3.2-liter Busso V-6 with 247 hp and could do over 150 mph. The GTA wasn’t available until 2002, though, so for people going through the trouble of buying and importing one of these three- or five-door Italians, it’s probably worth waiting until 2027 for the fast one.

2000-07 Holden Ute

The VX-generation Holden Commodore debuted down under in late 2000. Many of them were commuter sedans with V-6 engines. An SS model did get a 5.7-liter V-8, but we have plenty of old V-8 sedans here in the States and don’t need to look half a world away when shopping for one. What we don’t have over here (not since the El Camino went away in 1987, anyway) are Utes, the car-based pickups beloved by Australians. A Holden Ute, based on the VT-generation Commodore, came out for 2000.

Base models got a 3.8-liter Ecotec V-6, while an SS got a 302-hp V-8 with either six-speed manual or four-speed auto. SS models in particular look like a pickup version of the 2004-06 Pontiac GTO, which was itself based on an Australian Holden Monaro.

2000-01 Lotus Exige

We were lucky enough to get the Series 2 Lotus Elise and Exige here in the States, but the smaller, cuter, original versions of both never made it our way. The first Elise arrived in 1996, and its more track-oriented Exige cousin arrived in 2000 (production started in June) with a fixed roof, rear wing, front splitter, and wider bodywork. Other than a full racing harness, options included such lavish equipment as air conditioning, premium Alpine speakers, Exige-branded floormats, and an Alcantara trim pack. The 1.8-liter Rover K-Series four-cylinder came from the Elise, but with the ambitiously named “Very High Performance Derivative” (VPHD) tune its output rose to 177 hp.

Lotus built the first-generation Exige until November 2001. Most sources point to a production run of 604 cars, with about two-thirds of them in right-hand drive. Like the later S2 Exige it’s probably better on a track than off of one, but still a laugh-riot almost anywhere it goes.

2000 Lotus 340R

Well, this has turned into quite a Lotus-heavy list, but 2000 was a busy time for the folks at Hethel. The 340R is one of the company’s many track-focused models over the years, though it is arguably the ugliest.

Sold when new for £35,000, this Elise-based roller skate is road-legal but lacks windows, doors, and anything even resembling a roof. Its exhaust is partially exposed. Its fenders are an afterthought. But the Elise’s 1.8-liter VPHD-tuned Rover four came with either 177hp or 187hp outputs and could push the car to 0-60 in 4.4 seconds before hitting a 133 mph top speed. That was plenty quick 25 years ago but, being a Lotus, it really rocks in the corners. This car barely weighs 1500 pounds and its suspension is adjustable. Buyers could get their 340R in any color as long as it was silver and black, although there is one 340R out there, called the Exposé, that has a completely transparent body shell made out of polycarbonate.

Lotus built 340 copies of the 340R, and they sold out soon after the model was announced. Surprisingly, though, they haven’t really become hot collectibles despite their rarity and thrill factor. A few have sold at auction in the U.K. and Europe over the past few years, mostly in the $40,000 – $70,000 range depending on miles, location, and condition. Maybe their looks are holding them back.

2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R (in Midnight Purple III)

The R34-generation Nissan Skyline came out in late 1999, but the best color didn’t come out in full force until 2000. It’s Midnight Purple III, a limited-edition shade only available on the big-boy GT-R version of the Skyline. It does some pretty wild color shifts in the light, sort of like Ford’s Mystichrome paint from the same era. It’s also quite rare with just 199 GT-Rs painted in it by April of 2000, according to GT-R Registry.

Later in 2000 Nissan also introduced a “V-Spec II” version of the R34 GT-R with stiffer suspension, larger rear brakes, and a carbon fiber hood. The R34-generation GT-R is the last in the line of forbidden-fruit GT-Rs. Its successor, the R35, is the one that Nissan finally let us buy here in the States.