This unlikely Nissan is now worth $1,100,000 despite never being built to be famous
Published on Mar 03, 2026 at 12:03 AM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Mar 02, 2026 at 8:30 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
An unlikely Nissan sports car is now worth over $1 million, even though the Japanese car manufacturer never intended for it to cost so much or be so famous.
Most, if not all, car enthusiasts will have heard of the Nissan GT-R Skyline, perhaps one of the greatest sports cars the world has ever seen.
Through the R32, R33, and R34 generations, it became the stuff of legend, with the R32 even earning the nickname ‘Godzilla.’
But there is one version of the R33 which has become truly legendary, with less than 50 made, even though Nissan never expected it to be so famous.
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This Nissan R33 GT-R was never meant to be so famous
The car in question is the fearsome Nissan Nismo 400R.
Built in 1997, the 400R is an even higher-performance version of the R33 GT-R, designed by Nismo.
Nismo is the racing and tuning division of the Japanese manufacturer.
The company created the 400R exclusively for Japan, as Nissan looked to push the RB26 engine as far as possible.
To do this, REINIK was entrusted with tuning the engine.
What made the REINIK tuning so good?
They had earned considerable fame with the Calsonic R32 GT-Rs in Australia and Japan.
Plus, they played a part in Nissan’s Le Mans campaigns of 1995 and 1996.
REINIK bored and stroked the engine, and in the end it produced 395hp and 347lb-ft of torque at 4,400rpm.
With a top speed of 186mph, the 400R could rival even the fastest supercars of the time.
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Why the 400R suddenly became so famous
Originally, there were meant to be 100 examples of the 400R.
But with R33 production ending in 1998 and the R34 on the way, Nissan built just 44 in total.
All of them were sold in Japan, and around half of those are known to exist today.
It is this rarity and the tuning that went on under the hood that have made this such a famous sports car.
Being built and engineered by Nismo enhanced the reputation and desirability of the car.
The Japanese manufacturer simply intended for this to be just another sub-variant of the GT-R.
To show just how much of a celebrity car this is, Broad Arrow Auctions currently has one listed at $1.1 million.
Considering the average price of an R33 GT-R is around $73,000, it shows just how desirable the 400R is.
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a heritage steam railway.
