Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) | Spotted

The R34 is 20 years old this year; this very one is £120,000

Is there any more to be said about the R34 generation of Nissan Skyline GT-R? For two decades now, from those first reviews at the end of the last century to video game infamy, Hollywood A-lister to darling of the tuning industry, the attention and plaudits have been near enough constant; it feels like the book of Skyline evangelising has been completed.

Not quite. With the R34 20 years old this year, the GT-R badge itself celebrating half a century (with Bayside Blue back) and R35s celebrating a decade of official UK cars, there's focus on the Skyline perhaps like never before. Furthermore, with even the newest Skylines now 17 years old, they can start to be considered as classic cars; the days of 1,000hp builds, track weapons and crazy custom paint are probably behind us, as originality is prized and values soar.

That R34s are worth more than they were is no longer news; what is, however, certainly for us, is that non Z-Tune cars - the ultimate of ultimates, which you can read about here - can now command more than six figures. Yep, this is a £120k Skyline GT-R.

Of course, it's not just any old R34, if such a thing exists. This car is a V-Spec Nur II, one of the last R34s made in 2002. Over a standard car, the Nur - you can probably guess that bit - received block and internals from the N1 race car, a gold chassis plaque and, er, a different colour speedo. But it was offered in Millennium Jade, which has become legendary in Skyline circles, and which this car is painted in - apparently just 155 other cars are similarly configured.

While standard cars are now probably the most covetable, that this Nur is modified shows just how deep-seated the tuning culture was; even owners of the very last ones couldn't resist a bit of tinkering to make the Skyline that bit better. So it has an intercooler, blow-off valve and turbos from HKS, NISMO injectors and Apexi intake filters. Note as well the Volk TE37s, arguably the wheel of choice for any Japanese performance car, the NISMO bumper and skirts plus the lowered stance courtesy of HKS coilovers.

The spec presents something of a problem. Because with these changes, this Nur is probably a great Skyline, even more engaging and exciting than a standard one. But then this is also a 41,000-mile car for sale at £120,000, figures that would surely play on your mind every time you played at Gran Turismo for real. It still has its original service book and owner's manual, and the ad describing it as "absolutely gorgeous". It's got to be about as good as a GT-R gets.

Suggesting alternatives seems a moot point, really, because either a buyer wants the very best R34, or has plans for it to reside in a collection. Perhaps the more interesting discussion point is whether they can rise any further, given the classic market is far from flourishing at the moment. Perhaps it can, as a new GT-R must be along in time and the US can finally get R34s imported in a few years, or perhaps not. Either way, nothing will get in the way of the Skyline's hallowed status as an automotive icon, as much for what it came to represent as how it actually drove. Whoever gets to it next, and whatever they do with it, will be in for something spectacular.

SPECIFICATION - NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R (R34) V-SPEC NUR
Engine: 2,568cc, twin-turbo straight-six
Transmission: Six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 289@5,400rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2002
Recorded mileage: 41,000
Price then: £54,000
Price now: £120,000