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Category: Highlight

  • 225-mile R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II Nur for sale

    The R34-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R, built from 1999 to 2002, spawned numerous variants, but the V-Spec II Nür is among the most coveted. A virtually new example of this very rare GT-R is for sale, with an asking price of $485,000.

    Offered through JDM Expo, a Japan-based import/export company, this GT-R is one of just 718 V-Spec II Nür models built, and one of just 156 finished in Millennium Jade. What makes this car so special, though, is that it has only 225 miles on its odometer, according to the seller.

    The V-Spec II Nür was the pinnacle of R34 GT-R development. Nissan introduced the V-Spec II version in 2000, with major changes that included stiffer suspension and a carbon-fiber hood with a NACA duct. 

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    In 2002—the R34’s final year of production—Nissan upped the ante with the V-Spec II Nür model. Named in honor of the Nürburgring, the car featured an upgraded version of the RB26DETT engine with larger turbochargers on top of the V-Spec II upgrades. It made about 330 horsepower versus 276 hp for base models. Nissan also launched an M-Spec Nür model with different suspension tuning.

    This particular car has been for sale for quite awhile; a promotional YouTube video for it was posted last November. Buyers may be shying away due to the potential difficulty in registering this car for street use in the United States, as it doesn’t yet qualify for the 25-year exemption.

    The price could be another issue. It would smash the record GT-R selling price of $313,645 recently set by an M-Spec Nür model (per CarBuzz). Keep in mind that the previous record of $302,540 was set by another V-Spec II Nür with just 6 miles on the odometer. The asking price is also more than twice the $212,435 base price of a new 2021 Nissan GT-R Nismo, which offers far more performance but far less exclusivity.

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  • Survey says: Millennials and Gen Z care about classic cars after all

    It’s a common assumption that Millennials and members of Generation Z are less interested in cars than previous generations. But according to Hagerty survey results released last week, these younger drivers are more likely—not less—to want to own a classic car than their parents or grandparents.

    Of the 10,000 United States drivers surveyed, Gen Z and Millennials were most likely to report currently owning a collectible or classic car. One quarter of Millennials surveyed said they owned a classic car, as did 22% of Gen Zers surveyed. They were followed by Gen X (19%), Baby Boomers (13%), and the so-called Silent Generation (11%).

    In addition, members of the Gen Z and Millennial generations who don’t already own a classic car expressed more interest in owning one than older generations. Of the Millennials surveyed, 57% expressed interest in owning a classic car, and so did 53% of the Gen Zers surveyed. About half of Gen Xers (49%) also showed interest in classic cars, while numbers for Boomers (33%) and the Silent Generation (19%) were much lower.

    Hagerty said these findings were consistent with previous data. Since 2017, Millennials and Gen Xers have sought classic-car insurance quotes and valuations at much higher rates than older generations, according to the company. Hagerty didn’t provide any details on what constitutes “classic” or “collectible” for the purposes of its surveys, but the past few years have seen cars from the 1990s and early 2000s—those most likely to trigger Millennial nostalgia—attract more attention from collectors.

    More broadly, the survey found continued enthusiasm for driving across all generations.

    Nearly three of four Americans (73%) surveyed said they enjoy driving, regardless of generation. In addition, 38% of survey respondents described themselves as active “driving enthusiasts,” defined by Hagerty as belonging to a car club, taking part in off-road or track driving, and attending car shows or auctions.

    Attitudes toward driving by generation (from Hagerty 2020 Why Driving Matters survey)

    Attitudes toward driving by generation (from Hagerty 2020 Why Driving Matters survey)

    “Much of the ‘death of driving’ handwringing by the media in the wake of the Great Recession was based on data showing younger generations were getting their licenses later, buying their first vehicles later, and buying fewer vehicles compared to previous generations at the same age. That conflated buying power with demand,” Ryan Tandler, the survey lead, said in a statement. “The recession hit younger generations harder and delayed a host of major purchases and life milestones.”

    Millennials are now catching up and, as the nation’s largest generation, they could become the collector-car hobby’s biggest group in the near future, Hagerty predicts. That is, if the economic fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic doesn’t put them right back where they were a decade ago.

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  • The Mercedes-Benz 500 E turns 30: Respect your elders

    Virtually every Mercedes-Benz model gets a performance variant these days, but that never would have happened without the Mercedes-Benz 500 E, which turns 30 this year. To commemorate the sport sedan’s birthday, Mercedes released a retrospective on its development.

    Unveiled at the 1990 Paris International Motor Show, the 500 E was a W124-body mid-size sedan (which would get the E-Class designation for the United States in 1995) with the M119 5.0-liter V-8 from the R129-generation 500 SL. A twin-turbocharged racing version of this engine won the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Sauber-Mercedes C9 prototype. 

    The initial 500 E made 326 horsepower and could do 0-62 mph in 5.9 seconds, according to Mercedes. Top speed was electronically limited to 155 mph.

    The 500 E wasn’t the first Mercedes to follow this muscle-car template. In the 1960s, test engineer Erich Waxenberger shoehorned the 6.3-liter V-8 from a 600 limousine into a W109-body sedan (predecessor to today’s S-Class) to create the 300 SEL 6.3. And before it was absorbed into Mercedes, AMG built its own V-8 W124—the Hammer.

    Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    Mercedes-Benz 500 E

    While it set a precedent for future Mercedes-AMG sport sedans, the 500 E wasn’t developed by AMG. Mercedes brought in Porsche for development work, and partnered with the firm on assembly, a complicated process that involved sending cars back and forth between Mercedes’ Sindelfingen factory and Porsche’s in nearby Zuffenhausen.

    In Mercedes’ home market of Germany, the 500 E initially cost about twice as much as a base 300 E which, along with the low-volume production arrangement with Porsche, meant only 10,479 cars were built through the end of production in April 1995. In 1993, the model was renamed E 500 as part of a change in the W124 nomenclature. In March 1994, Mercedes launched an E 500 Limited version with special trim, and production limited to 500 units.

    The 500 E/E 500 also spawned other V-8 W124 models. In 1991, Mercedes launched the 400 E (later E 420), which was less powerful (it made 279 hp) but ultimately sold in larger numbers, with 22,802 units shifted. The E 60 AMG arrived in 1993, with a 6.0-liter version of the M119 V-8 making 381 hp.

    Mercedes retired the W124 model line in 1995, but the spirit of the 500 E lives on in today’s AMG E63 S sedan. Its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 produces 603 hp, allowing for 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds, with a top speed electronically limited to 186 mph. You can even get it as a wagon.

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