One of only a few hundred GT-R sedans ever built has landed in America.
When we imagine a Nissan Skyline GT-R, we imagine it as a coupe. But that’s not a hard and fast rule, as a special division of Nissan built a small number of sedans and even wagons. Better yet, one of them is for sale in the U.S. right now: a 1998 Nissan Skyline GT-R Autech 40th Anniversary Sedan.
Listed on Cars & Bids is one of 416 R33 GT-R sedans produced by Autech to mark the 40th anniversary of the Nissan Skyline. Autech was a sort of special production division of Nissan, separate from Nismo until recently—think along the same lines as Toyota’s Technocraft. Basically, Autech just swapped the GT-R coupe’s mechanicals over to a sedan chassis, adding rear bucket seats and unique bodywork.
Otherwise, it’s the same GT-R we know and revere. It has the legendary 2.6-liter RB26DETT twin-turbo inline-six, producing 276 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque. (At least, officially.) They travel through a five-speed manual transmission to Nissan’s rear-biased ATTESA ET-S all-wheel-drive system, while handling is further optimized by HICAS rear-wheel steering. R33 sedans seem to have the same wheelbase as the coupes, so handling differences should be minimal.
According to the listing, this example was imported earlier in 2023 and is registered with a New Hampshire title. It has the equivalent of 81,800 miles on the odometer and is said to be mostly stock with the addition of extra lights, window deflectors, an aftermarket shift knob, and a rear spoiler. The listing claims it received a minor recent service, replacing its engine oil and filter, air intake filter, and steering arm pads in the rear-steer system. (Imported JDM cars often need far more extensive services to be reliable dailies, though.)
The car will be sold through an online auction at Cars & Bids that ends on Wednesday, August 2, with a high bid of $47,500 at the time of publication. The R33 may be the least desirable Skyline GT-R for some, but this Autech sedan is a rare model in good shape. There’s no two ways about it: that’s gonna command a premium, especially if someone’s dreaming of a sleeper.
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