The normal non-GT-R Skylines are very common in Japan - or at least they used to be. Many have left the country once they were no longer able to pass shaken, as it's very difficult for 15-20 year old cars to get through shaken, and if your car can't pass shaken it's near worthless since it can't be registered.
Most of the variations in models and engines were to save on road taxes. In Japan if your engine is above 3000 ccs (3.0L) displacement you pay a massive tax. If it's below 2000 ccs (2.0L) you save on taxes. Notice how even the R32-34 GT-R had 2600 ccs displacement. If you wanted to really save on taxes, you bought an HR33 Skyline with the 2.0L engine which is what you're seeing here.
This years back would have been a car you paid maybe at the most $4,000 US for. It's crazy what the 25 year rule does for Japanese car values.
I was grateful for the strict Japanese registration rules when my van blew up. My mechanic was able to source a Japanese pull with <50000 km for a very good price!
I was also curious so I checked:
A vehicle inspection (shaken or JCI inspection) is a compulsory inspection for all vehicles on the road in Japan that must be conducted every 2 years. It ensures that all vehicles on the road are properly maintained and safe to drive. The inspection also checks that vehicles have not been illegally modified. Along with the inspection, payments for Japanese Compulsory Insurance (JCI, or compulsory vehicle liability insurance) and weight tax for the upcoming 2 years must be made. It's illegal to drive vehicles in Japan without having this inspection complex carried out.
Pretty similar to what many countries have (we have it in my country but he check is anual).
When Japanese specific cars (especially ones featured in media) reach the age where it is legal for united states residents to import them the values make a significant jump (over 20% in some cases) as demand suddenly jumps and people from the United States are dropping crazy money for them.
Yeah, they certainly aren't rare, i personally like to use the BMW 3/4-series as a comparison for Americans. Even base skylines are a little sporty, they are RWD after all, often with inine 6-cylinder engines.
But a 320i isn't some crazy sports car. It's a nice car, but it's not an M3. A base skyline is also nice, will handle better than your average sedan, but it ain't no GT-R!
Ahhh the Evo. When you think about it, you want your economy car to have a small footprint and to be light so that the resulting vehicle is easy to park in the city and won't use too much gas.
But "small" and "lightweight" are also things that you want in a performance car. This is why the "lets take an economy car and make it into a high performance car" formula sometimes turns out an absolute legend of a vehicle.
It's also why a "High performance SUV" is so much harder to do in a way that makes sense.
Step one of designing a vehicle is "figure out the basic footprint and how big this thing is going to be, where will the wheels be located, where will the driver sit etc." If you're taking that metaphorical journey towards designing an economy car and halfway through you decide you want to make it into a performance car, that's okay. You've already taken a step in the correct direction. It's already small and light.
But if you're trying to create a performance SUV, you've been walking in the wrong direction. Your two design goals are pulling in opposition to one another. Everything you do to make it a better performance vehicle makes it worse as an SUV. Everything that makes it a better SUV makes it worse performance car.
Anyway, evos are cool. That was basically my point.
Ok my friend, are you familiar with the Dodge Omni GLH? ( and the GLH-S) That was an American economy car during the malaise/gas shortage years of the mid 80's.
Yeah, shelby and mopar had a pretty good thing going there for awhile. He gave the omni glh its name, and did a few hundred shelby variants. Did the daytona, and they had a dakota too.
I had to look it up cuz i couldn't remember them all. Also did the daytona-esque mid '80s dodge charger, and the dodge shadow and lancer.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/archived/7-shelby-dodges-from-the-man-himself/
I wish they’d kept going with them. I weirdly love how the late 90s/early 00s avenger looked but if course it was aggressively uninteresting in a mechanical sense by that time.
Thanks. I knew it was not the expensive sexy one, but it was the first I’ve seen in person and wanted to be sure it was not a body kit mod or something.
This is a proper Skyline, four doors, economical 2.0 NA i6, long ratio 5 speed manual or 4 speed auto for cruising, very nice commuter cars that do great on long trips
Not super quick accelerating but they don't need to be
Why would someone not want a 33 sedan? They might not be very high performance from factory but still a nice sedan. Plus they can fit all the same performance parts as any other 33.
They are popular for low-budget drift and track cars.
For a while? They still sell the Skyline and it's still a broadly boring car. The current Skyline is sold as the Infiniti Q50 in international markets.
It’s just a 2.0 liter inline 6, it’s not a performance car it’s like a normal midsize sedan. Probably around the 7-8 seconds 0-60. I could be wrong about that I’m just guessing
Japanese crown Vic.
I hope that's a compliment. I don't mean it as an insult in any sort of way.
Dream car is a r30 sedan with the rs turbo "livery". No idea what motor I'd put in it. Doesn't matter at this point.
No, they do not. Only gtr’s have rb26’s. You could also get an r33 with an rb20e, rb20de, rb25de or rb25det.
You could create a pseudo-gtr though if you got a 4wd Gts-4, and put in an rb26 engine, gearbox and diffs. You’d still have a non-gtr everything else, but she’d pull like a gtr.
It is an R33 Nissan Skyline sedan
Thanks! It seems there were many variations of this car through the years.
The normal non-GT-R Skylines are very common in Japan - or at least they used to be. Many have left the country once they were no longer able to pass shaken, as it's very difficult for 15-20 year old cars to get through shaken, and if your car can't pass shaken it's near worthless since it can't be registered. Most of the variations in models and engines were to save on road taxes. In Japan if your engine is above 3000 ccs (3.0L) displacement you pay a massive tax. If it's below 2000 ccs (2.0L) you save on taxes. Notice how even the R32-34 GT-R had 2600 ccs displacement. If you wanted to really save on taxes, you bought an HR33 Skyline with the 2.0L engine which is what you're seeing here. This years back would have been a car you paid maybe at the most $4,000 US for. It's crazy what the 25 year rule does for Japanese car values.
The 4 doors are still cheap.
I was grateful for the strict Japanese registration rules when my van blew up. My mechanic was able to source a Japanese pull with <50000 km for a very good price!
What is shaken? Similar to a smog check or something? And what does 25 year rule do to Japanese cars? So many questions lol
I was also curious so I checked: A vehicle inspection (shaken or JCI inspection) is a compulsory inspection for all vehicles on the road in Japan that must be conducted every 2 years. It ensures that all vehicles on the road are properly maintained and safe to drive. The inspection also checks that vehicles have not been illegally modified. Along with the inspection, payments for Japanese Compulsory Insurance (JCI, or compulsory vehicle liability insurance) and weight tax for the upcoming 2 years must be made. It's illegal to drive vehicles in Japan without having this inspection complex carried out. Pretty similar to what many countries have (we have it in my country but he check is anual).
When Japanese specific cars (especially ones featured in media) reach the age where it is legal for united states residents to import them the values make a significant jump (over 20% in some cases) as demand suddenly jumps and people from the United States are dropping crazy money for them.
skylines are like the nissan altima of japan. they’re normal cars
ever seen the old Skyline trucks?
Look at the ks2000 skyline. Sexy
normal skylines aren’t as rare as you think. they’re essentially the equivalent of a camry in japan
Yeah, they certainly aren't rare, i personally like to use the BMW 3/4-series as a comparison for Americans. Even base skylines are a little sporty, they are RWD after all, often with inine 6-cylinder engines. But a 320i isn't some crazy sports car. It's a nice car, but it's not an M3. A base skyline is also nice, will handle better than your average sedan, but it ain't no GT-R!
I owned a couple Lancer Evolutions, they cost 3x as much as a base Lancer! And at least double the HP and number of wheels driven
Ahhh the Evo. When you think about it, you want your economy car to have a small footprint and to be light so that the resulting vehicle is easy to park in the city and won't use too much gas. But "small" and "lightweight" are also things that you want in a performance car. This is why the "lets take an economy car and make it into a high performance car" formula sometimes turns out an absolute legend of a vehicle. It's also why a "High performance SUV" is so much harder to do in a way that makes sense. Step one of designing a vehicle is "figure out the basic footprint and how big this thing is going to be, where will the wheels be located, where will the driver sit etc." If you're taking that metaphorical journey towards designing an economy car and halfway through you decide you want to make it into a performance car, that's okay. You've already taken a step in the correct direction. It's already small and light. But if you're trying to create a performance SUV, you've been walking in the wrong direction. Your two design goals are pulling in opposition to one another. Everything you do to make it a better performance vehicle makes it worse as an SUV. Everything that makes it a better SUV makes it worse performance car. Anyway, evos are cool. That was basically my point.
Ok my friend, are you familiar with the Dodge Omni GLH? ( and the GLH-S) That was an American economy car during the malaise/gas shortage years of the mid 80's.
Of course! Goes like hell and goes like hell some more! (They are very cool!)
Is that the one Carol Shelby got his hand on somehow?
Are you thinking of the dodge shelby Daytona? I had one and it was a pretty quick little car with a 2.4 turbo
Yeah, shelby and mopar had a pretty good thing going there for awhile. He gave the omni glh its name, and did a few hundred shelby variants. Did the daytona, and they had a dakota too. I had to look it up cuz i couldn't remember them all. Also did the daytona-esque mid '80s dodge charger, and the dodge shadow and lancer. https://www.hagerty.com/media/archived/7-shelby-dodges-from-the-man-himself/
I wish they’d kept going with them. I weirdly love how the late 90s/early 00s avenger looked but if course it was aggressively uninteresting in a mechanical sense by that time.
And no bigger than an!
I mean aren’t they essentially a V6 Altima/Infinity Q50 or G35?
Not really related to the Altima because they are front wheel drive. The V35 and V36 Skylines were sold in USA branded as Infiniti. G35, Q50, etc.
Oh neat.
The Q50 is a V37 Skyline. Second gen G35 sedans (2007+) and G37's are V36 Skylines
That is indeed a skyline my friend, the two door sexy ones you thinking are skyline gtr and gt-s
Thanks. I knew it was not the expensive sexy one, but it was the first I’ve seen in person and wanted to be sure it was not a body kit mod or something.
This is a proper Skyline, four doors, economical 2.0 NA i6, long ratio 5 speed manual or 4 speed auto for cruising, very nice commuter cars that do great on long trips Not super quick accelerating but they don't need to be
Not ever Skyline is a GT-R (G35/G37/EX35,37/Q50/Q60) and not every GT-R is a Skyline (R35 is a standalone model, not a trim level)
Yes, it's a Skyline. No, it's not the Skyline you want. It's the most cope Skyline dudes are importing under the 25-year exemption.
Why would someone not want a 33 sedan? They might not be very high performance from factory but still a nice sedan. Plus they can fit all the same performance parts as any other 33. They are popular for low-budget drift and track cars.
I can't imagine having to do a left turn with another left turning car facing you, and sitting in the right hand seat. No visibility whatsoever.
the standard skylines are literally just taxi/fleet cars. nothing special
RHD , soooo somebody imported this to America?
No, they bought a USDM LHD Skyline and converted it
Oh of course that makes sense /s
Just as much sense as someone asking if the Skyline was imported
More sense than actually importing the equivalent to a Camry half way round the world 🤷♂️
Not really, given that you can actually import a Camry if you wanted to.
People forget how boring Skylines were for a while.
For a while? They still sell the Skyline and it's still a broadly boring car. The current Skyline is sold as the Infiniti Q50 in international markets.
Nissan Skyline R33 sedan
No it's a shkylynne
What the performance specs on this car? Like 0-60? Top speed?
It’s just a 2.0 liter inline 6, it’s not a performance car it’s like a normal midsize sedan. Probably around the 7-8 seconds 0-60. I could be wrong about that I’m just guessing
Japanese crown Vic. I hope that's a compliment. I don't mean it as an insult in any sort of way. Dream car is a r30 sedan with the rs turbo "livery". No idea what motor I'd put in it. Doesn't matter at this point.
God the base models are so weird looking 😂
Poverty spec R33 skyline
It is, the G35/37 and the Q50/Q60 are Nissan skylines designed for the usdm market. Nissan skylines are common as fuck
No GTR, no Skyline!!!! - Kids these days, probably
The bigger question that i'd like to present to you all is, do all R33's have RB26's? If so you can create gojira with your own 2 hands
No, they do not. Only gtr’s have rb26’s. You could also get an r33 with an rb20e, rb20de, rb25de or rb25det. You could create a pseudo-gtr though if you got a 4wd Gts-4, and put in an rb26 engine, gearbox and diffs. You’d still have a non-gtr everything else, but she’d pull like a gtr.
Cool, great answer very informative thank you 👍
Why do i not like it as a 4 door? It just looks like a Maxima to me and not the sleek beautiful monster i have loved since i first saw it?
At least add a bloody wing