In the 1990s, the automotive world witnessed a golden age of incredibly fast and Nissan he designed one of, if not the most, iconic sports cars of that era. The powerful and beautiful R34 Nissan Skyline is undoubtedly a JDM legend with immense power and a classic, intimidating yet subtle look that represents its excellent engineering and design.
For years, the popular 1998 Skyline has been a dream car for many enthusiasts who have an unmatched love for Japanese sports cars from the 1990s. And since there has been a law prohibiting the importation of these vehicles into the US market unless 25 years have passed since the vehicle’s production, cases of this legend in the States have been quite rare and expensive.
However, 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the beloved R34 Skyline from 1998 and the restriction on importing it now no longer exists. Let’s take a look at how this Japanese beast earned its iconic international status and why you might consider importing one.
The Nissan Skyline R34 named after Godzilla
Originally manufactured in 1957 as a four-door sedan, the Skyline was intended by the Prince Motor Company (later purchased by Nissan) to be a luxury car to compete with European and American-made vehicles. Over the following years, Skyline improved and went through significant changes. In 1966, Nissan bought the Prince brand, and in 1969, the Skyline began to become more than just a family sedan.
This gave birth to the S20 engine, a roaring six-cylinder beast with two cams and 24 valves introduced in the 1969 Skyline that made 160 hp. The new and improved Skyline was given the first GT-R badge and dominated touring racing and became a serious contender for its European and American competitions.
After a couple of decades and after the gas crisis of the 70s, Nissan reincarnated the GT-R badge with the 1989 R32 Skyline and the Godzilla was born. The introduction of the R32 proved to be a crucial hallmark not only in the history of Nissan, but also in the world of automobiles. The all-wheel-drive, twin-turbo 1989 GT-R made around 320bhp while the official claim was 289.
The R32 Skyline is the beginning of the JDM legend that the car community knows and loves. It received minor improvements, updates and redesigns throughout the decade, including a lightened front end, improved aerodynamics, better structural rigidity and a refined exterior appearance.
This process saw the Skyline evolve into the R34, which is arguably the most popular car among the Nissan Skyline models throughout history.
Ultimate Japanese engineering and performance in the Skyline R34
Powered by the RB25DE NEO 2.5L i6 mated to a five-speed transmission, the 1998 Skyline was powerful and relatively environmentally friendly, providing efficient gas mileage. There were also 2.0L engines in some tenth-generation Skyline models called the RB20DE NEO that were the most fuel-efficient variants of all the inline-six Skylines.
1998 Nissan Skylines with turbocharged RB25DE and RB25DET in the engine bay produced 197 and 280 hp respectively. The Skyline 25GT FOUR and 25GT-X FOUR models also featured four-wheel drive.
Additionally, Nissan brought back the GT-R badge for the R34 models and updated many aspects of the already capable Skyline to make it the best performance factory vehicle they could come up with. The R34 Skyline GT-R, powered by the iconic RB26DETT 2.6L engine, made a whopping 327bhp, while Nissan still advertised it as making 276bhp due to an unwritten agreement between the Japanese manufacturers to understate the their HP numbers for their sports cars.
Unfortunately, though, the R34 Skyline got the GT-R treatment in 1999, a year after its initial release, meaning you won’t be able to legally import a 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 until 2024.
What to consider before importing a 1998 Nissan Skyline R34
While owning and driving a 1998 Skyline in the Japanese domestic market is certainly a wonderful experience, complicated US import laws and classifications must be considered when attempting to import a car from Japan.
A common problem with JDM cars that hit the 25-year mark is the huge price increase. A sensible way to avoid this problem is to buy a car that is not yet legal to import, keep it abroad, in this case Japan, and wait for it to become legal to import.
Although, for this process to take place, you will need to travel to Japan or participate in online Japanese used car auctions.
These online auctions with cars that are usually stored for many years will provide you with a page with a list of defects with quantitative ratings. These defect sheets are mostly reliable as they are official.
After making a purchase, we recommend that you leave the rest to an importing agency. Although this may cost you 10 to 20 percent more than the original overall costs, their expertise will save you a lot of time and trouble.
The last thing to consider when importing a 1998 Skyline is the fact that most cars sold at auction have spent a lot of time in storage and will possibly have problems such as oil leaks, battery problems and cracked paint. This probably won’t be a serious problem as these Nissan JDM legends can handle modifications and you can improve and maintain your ride with some aftermarket changes and upgrades.
