Chassis No. BCNR33021424

400R No. 008

The Nissan NISMO 400R is sacred among Japanese car collectors who are devoted to the historical Skyline nameplate. Nissan Motorsports International (NISMO), fresh from their Le Mans campaign with the GT-R LM, introduced the limited-run 400R in 1995 as a road-legal dissertation on what they had learned through their endurance racing ventures. The R33-generation GT-R V-Spec upon which the 400R was based was already a potent performance machine, featuring larger brakes, a tuned suspension, and a lower ride height than the standard GT-R. Yet the NISMO 400R was a special beast, far beyond the parameters of a standard trim upgrade.

The "R" stood for Racing and "400" denoted the reported horsepower output from the 400R's precisely blueprinted RB26DETT twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter inline-six engine, now enlarged to 2.8 liters, fitted with larger N1 turbochargers, and labeled the RBX-GT2. The engine work was performed by REINIK, who had developed the powerplants for Nissan's legendary Calsonic-liveried R32 GT-Rs that dominated Group A racing. Limited in production and technically created by an in-house tuning company rather than Nissan itself, the 400R was one of a limited few performance cars that were officially approved to push the boundaries of the infamous 1990s Japanese Gentleman's Agreement among manufacturers that limited performance to 276 horsepower on paper and prevented an all-out horsepower war.

The 400R was hand built at Nissan's Omori factory, and NISMO fitted the cars with coveted Rays NISMO LM-GT1 three-piece wheels, a new exhaust, new intercooler, and a twin-plate clutch. Additionally, the car's ride height was lowered nearly two inches, and its suspension was upgraded with NISMO springs and Bilstein shock absorbers. The 400R featured many unique aerodynamic elements, including a new carbon fiber hood and rear spoiler, wider fenders, redesigned bumpers with better air flow, and side skirts. This arsenal of upgrades propelled the 400R from zero–to-60 mph in four seconds and to a top speed of 186 mph; a road-legal track monster with supercar performance.

NISMO planned to build 100 400Rs but claims to have completed just 44 examples by the time R33 production ceased, and only 40 400Rs have ever been verified. Many 400Rs immediately disappeared into exclusive dealer inventories and private collections and only began to reappear when the R33 became legal to import to the United States.

While it remained forbidden fruit for North American buyers for 25 long years, the NISMO 400R steadily garnered an underground following through the video game racing series Gran Turismo. First appearing in the series' inaugural entry on Sony's PlayStation in 1998, the 400R was one of the hardest cars to unlock in-game as well as one of the fastest. This quickly gave the 400R, which most Americans had never heard of before, a cult-like reputation. The original Gran Turismo shipped nearly 11 million copies worldwide, and the 400R was featured prominently in its sequels, exposing millions of car enthusiasts from a multi-generational background to this ultra-rare Nissan unavailable in North America.

This 1996 Nissan NISMO 400R is number 8 of the 44 examples produced and is finished in QM1 White over a black NISMO interior with red stitching. According to its clean CarVX Report, this example was manufactured in February of 1996 and was first registered in Japan in July of that year. It accumulated limited mileage for the next two decades, with inspections reported in July 2019 and July 2021. The 400R was purchased by the consignor in November 2022 and was imported to Canada in July 2023, before arriving in the United States the following year-becoming part of an exceptionally small group of 400Rs to reach American shores.

This example has been lightly used since entering the consignor's impressive collection of rare exotics and imports in North Carolina and has been maintained by Driven Tuning in Stallings, North Carolina. The consignor showcased this exceedingly rare Nissan at the 2024 Amelia Concours d'Elegance, winning the Hagerty Car Culture Award. It is now offered with its original maintenance manuals and an odometer that shows just 16,313 kilometers (10,136 miles) at the time of cataloging.

For an entire generation, the Nissan NISMO 400R is, quite simply, mythical. It surpassed the two-dimensional poster cars of the 1980s, experienced for the first time in digital, playable form by the Gran Turismo generation of the 1990s and 2000s. It stands at the apex of the golden age of Japanese sports cars but remains eminently rare with just 44 produced. Only a handful have left the country where they were built, and most enthusiasts have only experienced it through period magazine features, posters, and a PlayStation controller. The reaction to seeing and hearing one in person will halt even the most focused conversation, and will almost certainly imprint a core automotive memory upon its observers.

Opportunities to acquire a genuine 400R are exceedingly rare, and the chance to acquire an award-winning example with light use and limited mileage such as this is rarer still. Simply put, the NISMO 400R is the defining Japanese halo car of its generation and a true game-changer within the global collector landscape-bringing the internet to a halt on the exceedingly rare occasion one emerges for sale, and a car that few enthusiasts will ever have the privilege to seriously consider.