2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)

The R34 generation Nissan Skyline GT-R — the chassis LEGO® set 76917 models — was built from January 1999 to August 2002 at Nissan's Tochigi plant, and it remains the last car to wear both the Skyline and GT-R names. Every Nissan GT-R since (the R35 onwards) is just 'Nissan GT-R'. Under the bonnet sat the RB26DETT, a 2.6-litre twin-turbocharged inline-six rated at 280 PS (276 hp) on the official Nissan spec sheet — a number set by Japan's manufacturers' gentlemen's agreement of the time, not by what the engine actually made. Real output is widely reported at 320–330 hp; the chassis, drivetrain and gearbox were over-engineered for closer to 500.

Drivetrain is the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R's signature: ATTESA-ETS Pro, an active-torque-split all-wheel-drive system that could send up to 100% of torque to the rear axle in normal driving and shuttle it forward through a multi-plate clutch when grip ran out. A six-speed Getrag manual gearbox was standard — the R32 and R33 Nissan Skyline GT-Rs had been five-speed only. The V-Spec II trim added a carbon-fibre bonnet with NACA duct, harder springs, and Brembo brakes inherited from the standard car. A Nismo-developed factory variant, the Z-Tune, was built in 19 examples by Nissan Motorsport International in 2005 and is now a seven-figure car. Brickset's 76917 listing notes which spec the LEGO® set is closest to.

The R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R was never officially imported into the United States. Nissan's grey-market import path — the 'Show or Display' programme — admitted only a handful of cars, and the standard 25-year federal exemption began allowing 1999 R34s into the US only in 2024. That gap between availability and demand is much of what built the R34's mystique outside Japan, and is why the silver R34 in 2 Fast 2 Furious felt forbidden to American audiences in 2003.

Brian O'Conner's R34 in 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) is silver, with a graphics package along the lower body, a small rear wing, and a Bomex-style front bumper. Several R34s were used during filming — at least three were destroyed — and the production worked with US-based grey-market dealer Motorex, which had federal-exemption certification at the time. The car carries Hollywood modifications (an exposed NOS canister; a floor-mounted nitrous-arming switch) that real R34 owners would consider cosmetic theatre rather than functional tuning.