Fast & Furious GT-R is most expensive Skyline sold at auction

Love ’em or hate ’em, the Fast & Furious franchise has become one of the biggest pop-culture movements in modern automotive history. Starting out as a simple action flick about illegal street racing, the series evolved to encompass over-the-top stunts and graphics that defy the rules of physics. Yet despite the creep into the more general action-movie genre, Fast films have always kept one thing at the center: the cars.

That focus, along with widespread desire for any vehicle associated with F&F star Paul Walker, has meant stratospheric values for cars associated with the movies. So when Bonhams offered the hero R34 GT-R from Fast & Furious 4, the world took notice. It now holds a new public auction record for a Skyline GT-R at $1.357 million paid (inclusive of 15 percent buyer’s premium).

This sale is far more significant than it appears on the surface, so let’s dive in. First, according to gtr-registry.com, this car left the factory in November of 2000 finished in the ever-attractive shade of Bayside Blue. It would eventually find its way into the United States as a “kit car” via Kaizo Industries and titled as a 2007 Kaizo kit car (more on that in a moment).

The car was sourced for the fourth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise and upgraded extensively. Being the intense car enthusiast that Walker was, he had specific requests for how the car should be modified. High-quality performance modifications resulted in a 550-horsepower machine, and, reflecting his aesthetic tastes, this R34 turned out visually cleaner than the different, stickered-up R34 used in 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Used as the hero car (the one used for all the close ups with Walker behind the wheel), this R34 figured prominently throughout the film. Stunt work, however, was performed by cheaper and more expendable upgraded Skyline GT-Ts, which are a down-spec model that resembles the GT-R.

After the movie, though, was when this R34’s story really got interesting. Understanding the full scope of it requires a bit of background about the GT-R market in the U.S. in the mid-2000s.

Having never been built for U.S. consumption, the Skyline, like all foreign market vehicles not accepted under the Show or Display rule, was barred from being imported until it reached 25 years old. This briefly changed when a company called MotoRex succeeded in importing some cars after working with NHTSA and the EPA to ensure the cars were up to U.S. regulatory standards. However, MotoRex was shut down due to questionable business dealings by it owner, and NHTSA slammed the door hard on importing Skylines.

But if there’s a will, there’s a way, and Kaizo Industries created a plan to get U.S. Skyline enthusiasts the cars they wanted. Kaizo took fully-assembled, complete GT-Rs, removed their drivetrains, and shipped the components to the U.S. There, they were reassembled and considered kit cars. Many in the community assert that this was legal to the letter of the rules at the time; however, NHTSA and the EPA didn’t agree, and Kaizo was shuttered as a result. Owners of Kaizo-imported GT-Rs were sent letters demanding the surrender of their cars, and several cars were seized.

Our hero GT-R was one such car, reportedly sitting in impound until 2012 as the case against Kaizo was litigated. Kaizo’s guilty plea for illegal importation prompted a second door slam on the early import of Skylines. Though it had the potential to be destroyed as a result of it reaching our shores illegally, this GT-R was thankfully spared the crusher and exported to Germany. The catch is that it can never come back: When the U.S. government exports an illegally imported automobile, it comes with the stipulation that the VIN is blacklisted from ever being imported again.

Fast forward to today, and Skylines have only gained in popularity worldwide, but the U.S. market is particularly strong. Your run of the mill R34 GT-R that can be imported to the States is a $100,000-$200,000 car without breaking a sweat, and substantially more if it is a show-or-display-eligible spec. Fans want them badly here in the U.S., to the point where importers have lines of buyers for cars who are willing to store them overseas until their car comes of age.

There are the lofty expectations for movie hero cars, and that was especially true for this potent combination of an R34 GT-R with Paul Walker connections, who ranks second on our Power List of celebrity influences on value. That said, this is a hefty premium over a similarly-equipped-but-not-famous GT-R.

All of that brings into focus just how substantial this sale is. For a car that is blacklisted from the red-hot U.S. market, $1.357 million for this car is truly something to behold, and a strong reminder of the worldwide demand for the R34 and love of Walker and the Fast & Furious movies.

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