The R34 Skyline GT-R is a Japanese supercar royalty. In the right spec, it can be more desirable than a Lamborghini Diablo. However, while collectors are fighting over mint-condition Z-Tunes in Midnight Purple, nobody has one of these, a Nissan Stagea 260RS Autech. And it could be the bargain of the century because this import is listed on Cars & Bids with a Doug DeMuro YouTube video as its seal of approval.
As fans of the GT-R know, this performance vehicle is based on a regular car, much like the M3 is derived from a 3 Series. And as a result, the GT-R kinda’ resembles a regular Skyline coupe or even a sedan. However, not many people know that the Skyline has a wagon cousin as well.
Of course, we’re big fans of the JDM phenomenon and have covered Stagea conversions to R35 GT-R wagons. However, here is something that Nissan made themselves.
In 2022, Nissan merged its two in-house tuning companies into one. But before its merger with Nismo, Autech was cranking out body kits. And before that, it made race cars or weird rarities like the Autech Zagato AZ1.
The Nissan Stagea 260RS Autech is absolutely gorgeous, full of character, and pretty rare. Its boxy, practical body is wrapped up in an aggressive body kit and it’s powered by one of the coolest engines of all time.
Because the Stagea is based on the Skyline platform, Autech could install a complete R33 GT-R powertrain, including the 5-speed manual and AWD system. When you put your foot down, the RB26 responds from under the hood with way more than the 280 hp advertised by Nissan. Doug claims it’s closer to 320 hp, about the same as the Audi RS2 which he used to own.
The 260RS Autech package is aggressive, but not overkill. The car has no fender flares, and the 17-inch BBS wheels don’t hide some fancy gold brakes. It’s got a wing on the back and swollen side skirts, but that’s about it.
The Autech-tuned Stagea is also a rare machine, with 1,734 units reportedly built. These almost never come up for sale in the United States, and the most expensive one went for $53,878 on BAT back in September 2023. This example is approaching that price even though it’s got more miles and has had numerous mods.
The Stagea itself is a pretty rare care, with some 133,000 made from 1996 to 2007. The car was built in 3 generations, Series 1, Series 1.5, and Series 2. It was meant as a replacement for the Skyline wagon and was succeeded by the Nissan Skyline crossover (Infiniti EX and QX50).
