A highly coveted 1996 Nissan NISMO 400R is set to cross the auction block March 7 at the Amelia Island sale, where experts believe bidding could surpass the million-dollar mark. The sale, handled by Broad Arrow Auctions, places one of the rarest and most celebrated Skyline GT-R variants in front of serious collectors.
Only 44 examples of the NISMO 400R were ever produced, making it one of the most exclusive performance cars to emerge from Japan in the 1990s. Built on the R33-generation Skyline GT-R platform, the 400R was developed by Nissan’s motorsports division, NISMO, as a no-compromise performance machine that challenged the era’s unofficial 276-horsepower limit observed by Japanese automakers.
Instead of adhering to that agreement, NISMO enlisted REINIK, the engineering group behind Nissan’s dominant R32 Group A race engines, to create something far more ambitious. The result was a 2.8-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six derived from the GT-R’s 2.6-liter unit, upgraded with forged internal components and larger turbochargers. The engine was tuned to produce 400 horsepower and rev to 9,000 rpm. In 1996, the car carried a reported top speed of 186 mph, performance figures that placed it among the elite road cars of its time.
The 400R’s roots trace back to Nissan’s 1995 Le Mans campaign, where Skyline race cars endured the grueling 24-hour event and secured a top-10 finish despite high attrition. That endurance racing pedigree informed the road car’s development, which included titanium exhaust components, Bilstein dampers, revised aerodynamics and a lowered suspension setup.
The example heading to auction is finished in white, Japan’s traditional racing color, and shows just over 10,000 miles. It entered North America through Canada’s 15-year import allowance before arriving in the United States in 2024.
For a generation introduced to the 400R through late-1990s video games, the model has achieved near-mythical status. Combined with its extreme rarity, motorsports lineage and preserved condition, the upcoming sale could reaffirm the 400R’s position among the most valuable Japanese performance cars ever offered at auction.
Via Broad Arrow Auctions
