√‘Fast and Furious’ Nissan Skyline GT-R up for auction

A Nissan Skyline GT-R that starred in the 2009 instalment of the Fast and Furious movie franchise is heading to auction in Europe.

A Nissan Skyline GT-R driven by Fast and Furious film star Paul Walker in the movie franchise’s self-titled fourth instalment – and which later became involved in a legal battle in the US – is heading to auction in Belgium.

Listed by UK auction house Bonhams, this ‘Bayside Blue’ 2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R was one of the star cars in the 2009 film Fast and Furious, driven on screen by Paul Walker who reprised his lead role as FBI Agent ‘Brian O’Conner’.

The auction listing claims the Nissan Skyline’s chassis was imported without an engine to the US from Japan by Kaizo Industries, allowing the firm to bypass the country’s stringent import laws and sell the sports coupe to stateside customers as a ‘kit car’.

After it arrived in the US, the Skyline GT-R’s correct 2.6-litre, twin-turbo six-cylinder ‘RB26’ engine was installed, while Mr Walker reportedly chose the exact modifications for the film’s star car – including Volk Racing wheels, a body kit, suspension and engine upgrades.

According to The Fast and Furious Wiki – a website dedicated to the film franchise – at least six Nissan Skylines were used during filming of the 2009 movie, however all but this example were based on the rear-wheel-drive, non-turbocharged GT-T variants, not the all-wheel-drive, twin-turbo GT-R.

Despite being closely involved in the Nissan Skyline GT-R’s modifications, Mr Walker didn’t purchase the vehicle after filming wrapped. Instead, the Japanese sports coupe was reportedly impounded by the US Border Force.

Bonhams claims the legal issues stemmed from Kaizo Industries importing the Nissan Skyline as a kit car when it was actually a fully-assembled vehicle (without an engine), despite being first registered in Nevada in 2007 as a ‘Kai’ (short for Kaizo).

The listing provides no details about how the legal conflict was resolved, though the car was reportedly released in 2012 and shipped to Germany via the Netherlands.

According to the listing, the Nissan Skyline GT-R was based in Germany for the past decade and has rarely been driven as it has not been registered in Europe.

Bonhams has not provided an estimate of how much the Fast and Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R could sell for when the auction begins on April 28, but the popularity of the Japanese sports car has caused prices to skyrocket in recent years.

In November 2022, an extremely rare R34-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R sold for 5.1 million Hong Kong dollars – equivalent to $972,000 in Australian currency – which is believed to be a record for the Japanese cult classic car.

Prices of cars formerly owned or driven by Paul Walker have also increased in recent years, as the 10th anniversary of his death in a car crash in December 2013 approaches.

In December 2022, a rare 1980 BMW M1 AHG Studie sports-car once owned by the late movie star sold for $US648,500 ($AU948,064) at an auction in Florida – up from its $US500,000 ($AU731,245) sale price in early 2021.

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