The R34 Skyline GT-R is of course one of the most desirable performance cars of its era, maybe of all time. But within that subset of highly-coveted Nissans is an even rarer group — the Midnight Purple cars. And one of them recently hit Bring a Trailer.
Only 546 R34 GT-Rs were finished in either Midnight Purple II or Midnight Purple III according to GT-R Registry; the original Midnight Purple debuted on the R33 GT-R. Together, the Midnight Purple II and III R34s comprise less than five per cent of the 11,578 GT-Rs built between 1999 and 2002.
This GT-R here — a Midnight Purple II V-Spec car from 1999 — was imported to the United States under Show and Display exemption last August. The current bid at the time of writing is $US253,000 ($324,498) but there are still five days left on the auction, so expect that to climb by quite a lot.
Midnight Purple II is a hue-shifting shade that looks more or less like Dimetapp or Baja Blast Mountain Dew, depending on how the light strikes it at any given moment. I realise that’s maybe the most unflattering description one could give, but then any explanation in words won’t do the effect justice. It really is a striking and distinctive colour that you don’t often see offered from the factory, even today.
This GT-R wears its original 18-inch wheels, refinished in their recognisable warm grey tone. In December of last year the car received some work, gaining Öhlins coilovers as well as service to its “timing belt, water pump, spark plugs, ignition coils, oxygen sensor, and valve covers.” Refurbished fuel injectors and replacement of all fluids have this very special R34 looking and probably running good as new, even with about 64,374 km on the odometer.
The Midnight Purple GT-R will be recognisable to anyone who grew up playing Gran Turismo — particularly GT4, which broke the shade out into its own special model, rather than merely a selectable colour. It looked best, unsurprisingly, under the night skies of Special Stage Route 5, George V Paris or the Hong Kong street circuit, where the car would momentarily disappear only to reveal itself in a flash of plum under the illumination of a street light.
