1970s-era Japanese sports cars were some of the coolest ever made. Undoubtedly, the jewels among them were a 1971 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R ‘Hakosuka’ and a 1973 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R ‘Kenmeri’. Those cars embody a particular 2000GT-R style that evokes the best vintage Nissans ever produced, and currently they are one of the savviest classic-car investments to make.

Traditionally, it has been extremely rare to see an early Skyline 2000GT-R outside Japan, and especially on the auction blocks of the USA – unquestionably the largest market for classic & sports cars. However, the times are changing. From 2014 to 2015, the US auction houses reported saw people searching for those cars jump over 377 percent. More interestingly, 80 percent of those cars were searched by millennials, which bodes well for its continued popularity as those buyers age, and acquire more wealth, over the next decades.

Why there has been such a big jump in the number of people looking for those cars? Here’s why: Nissan Skylines were all exclusively produced for the Japanese market, and it has been illegal to import to the USA any types of Skylines that are less than 25 years old. Recently, as the late ‘80s popular R32 versions becoming available for USA import, the interest for the further down the line in the earlier models of the Skylines have also been picking up dramatically.

In terms of numbers, while Nissan made almost 300,000 R32s between the years of 1989 to 1994, in the 1970s, only 832 Hakosuka sedans and 1,197 of the Hakosuka 2-doors were manufactured. As of today, only a handful of a few hundred of those cars known to be remaining, mostly in the Japanese market. As for the Kenmeri versions, the production of those cars were halted after only 197 units were produced as the stricter emission regulations were introduced in Japan shortly after their debut.

Since the iconic Skyline R33 and R34s will soon become available to USA import, the interest in the early models of Skylines is expected to continue increasing over time. Since the two models have progenitor status and rarity and will be of interest as awareness of these cars becomes more mainstream, they are expected to provide significant returns over time for the long-term investors who hold on to those cars.

At JDM EXPO, with almost 4 decades of market experience as a Japanese sports car dealer, we have been in the business of purchasing, restoring and selling all types of sports and classic Japanese cars. Currently, we have several Hakosuka and Kenmeri available for sale, and we also have been the top sources of those vehicles for the overseas buyers. If you are interested in purchasing one of those cars, shoot us an emails at [email protected] with a brief description of what you are after in the market, and we will get back to you within 1-2 business days of your inquiry. In a meanwhile, we welcome you to learn more about us through our main website at www.jdm-expo.com and contact us through the contact boxes with your further inquiries.