Guidelines

Is the Nissan Skyline GTR R32 legal in the US?

Is the Nissan Skyline GTR R32 legal in the US?

Long story short, the Nissan Skyline GT-R is illegal in the United States because it doesn’t meet the requirements of the 1988 Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act. The Skyline was not built with the right safety features to comply with the relevant road safety legislation.

Is the GTR R32 illegal?

We’ve got some good news for you! Any car that’s over 25 years old can bypass the ridiculous US legal system. This means that you can entirely legally import and own a Nissan Skyline R31, or R32 GT-R into the US right now (unless you’re in California, which brings its own typical complications).

Why is the R32 GTR illegal?

Why did the act pass? In short, because of money. After lots of lobbying (mainly by Mercedes-Benz, who was losing a considerable sum to the grey market), Congress passed the law that kept vehicles like the Nissan Skyline on their own shores.

What does a Nissan Skyline R32 have for an engine?

Every R32 Skyline GT-R was powered by a very sophisticated 2.6-liter inline-six cylinder engine called the RB26DETT . It was rated 276 hp (the most allowed by a Japanese manufacturer at the time) but has always been rumored to make more. The horsepower peak is at 6800 rpm and the engine’s 266 lb-ft of torque occurs at 4400 rpm.

Is the Nissan Skyline R32 legal in the US?

While most people seem to want the R34 GT-R version of the Nissan Skyline, there are other versions, and models of the car available. Already the R32 GT-R version, sold since August of 1989, has been legal in the US since 2014. The R33 GT-R started turning 25 years old in 2020.

Why was Nissan Skyline banned?

The reason a Skyline is illegal is because of NHTSA, DOT, and EPA regulations. There are a few R32’s and R34’s that were made compliant by MOTOR-EX in the late 90’s early 2000’s, but the company was shut down for not performing the necessary modifications on the cars. They were also expensive.

Does Nissan Skyline ever come to USA?

In short, the Nissan Skyline is not often seen in the US as Nissan has never gone through the long list of requirements that are deemed necessary for a car to undergo before it is seen as safe to go to the general US market.