[TRP]

So after doing some research the whole Motorex scandal. It has made me wonder, it has been said by Sean Morris an ex employee of Motorex, now the founder of Toprank Importers that there were 34~R32's, 62~R33's and 15~R34's. Does anyone know of any lost Motorex Skylines? Which maybe never got registered, or got stuck at port or anything along them lines.

It would be very cool and interesting to know about any lost Motorex Skylines.

 

[W.Velge]

Hello, I think I can answer your question. The numbers Sean posted are Accurate. They are the current (KNOWN) Number of Motorex cars. Over the last couple years, I’ve been working with GT-R registry to Document as many of the U.S Federalized Skylines (under VCP-17 & VCP-32) as we can. I started the project with a buddy of mine for a few reasons.

Mainly to Help any potential buyers in purchasing, Verifying any and all history one of these cars may have. Because they all have a story to them.

I absolutely believe there are still a good amount of undocumented Motorex cars out there. I wasn’t there for any of it, but by all credible accounts, the end few years of Motorex were a mess. Cars not being brought into compliance, piling up in their warehouse, Owners complaining to the DOT, some getting Stolen, Etc… It’s also my understanding, that they weren’t keeping track of inventory. Some werent on anyone lists anywhere.

Example: A friend of Mine’s R34 Vspec II was Imported by MotoRex in 2004, It wasn’t brought into compliance but still got a Bond release letter from the NHTSA in 2006. The “end letter” that said (You lawfully endeavored to bring this vehicle into compliance but we’re frustrated in your abilities to obtain release.. (“blah blah blah keep your car we don’t care”) His 34 was Officially documented as R34 #12 back in 2018, when Sean added it to his list. It was a Ghost car for many years, like you mentioned. But then over the last year & half, Cars, 13, 14 & 15 were found. I’m certain there are a few more Legal Bond released R34 out there. (18-20) is my guess. I’m always actively looking online.

There were also a few cars that Should have gotten a bond release, but didn’t. (3-4 cars) I know what they are.

 

[TRP]

Ah right I see. I also remember seeing these pics with the Nür. But IIRC the Nür didn’t get a bond release right? I do not know what happened after that.

 

[W.Velge]

Ah right I see. I also remember seeing these pics with the Nür. But IIRC the Nür didn’t get a bond release right? I do not know what happened after that. View attachment 270544
View attachment 270543

That is affirmative. The VspecII Nür didn’t get a bond release. That car was stolen and long recovered after all the other cars had been blanket released by the NHTSA. When it was found it was missing the Nür 24U engine. I shoulda gotten a release but the NHTSA couldn’t have known what state of compliance the car was in.

 

[W.Velge]

Nür

It* should have

 

[W.Velge]

That is affirmative. The VspecII Nür didn’t get a bond release. That car was stolen and long recovered after all the other cars had been blanket released by the NHTSA. When it was found it was missing the Nür 24U engine. I shoulda gotten a release but the NHTSA couldn’t have known what state of compliance the car was in.

 

[TRP]

Oh wow, I never knew that it had gotten stolen!

 

[W.Velge]

Oh wow, I never knew that it had gotten stolen!

Yeah, it sounded crazy. In 2005, 5 Skylines were stolen out of Motorex. 3 R34 GT-R, an R33 GTR and a R33 GTS25T. All the cars to my knowledge were recovered, but it’s been confirmed only 2 of those 5 cars were actually Bond released in the end. One of the R34 GT-R (a Bayside Blue Vspec) & the R33 GTS. The others were probably found too late.

 

[TRP]

So none of the other ones that had gotten stolen got recovered?

 

[W.Velge]

So none of the other ones that had gotten stolen got recovered?

The chassis numbers of the confirmed stolen cars around the time of motorex falling apart are the following:
BNR34-403075 (Nür)
BNR34-400755 (Series 2 Non Vspec)
BNR34-005468* (Blue Vspec)
ECR33-027470 (blue GTS)
BCNR33-001603 (silver GTR Vspec)
BCNR33-041616. (97’ Series 3 Vspec)

Im not too sure about the GTS being found as I can’t find any pictures of it anywhere, BUT I can confirm that car was Federalized. The paperwork for BNR34-005468 had been filed in 2002 & was a motorex R&D/OBD2 test car, so that car was already long approved. BCNR33-001603 was an end release car. BCNR33-041616, BNR34-400755 & BNR34-403075 were all (probably) found too late and didn’t get Bond releases as the NHTSA could not have known the whereabouts of those cars or the state of compliance they were in.

 

[TRP]

The chassis numbers of the confirmed stolen cars around the time of motorex falling apart are the following:
BNR34-403075 (Nür)
BNR34-400755 (Series 2 Non Vspec)
BNR34-005468* (Blue Vspec)
ECR33-027470 (blue GTS)
BCNR33-001603 (silver GTR Vspec)
BCNR33-041616. (97’ Series 3 Vspec)

Im not too sure about the GTS being found as I can’t find any pictures of it anywhere, BUT I can confirm that car was Federalized. The paperwork for BNR34-005468 had been filed in 2002 & was a motorex R&D/OBD2 test car, so that car was already long approved. BCNR33-001603 was an end release car. BCNR33-041616, BNR34-400755 & BNR34-403075 were all (probably) found too late and didn’t get Bond releases as the NHTSA could not have known the whereabouts of those cars or the state of compliance they were in.

Ah Right I see. Shame the rest didn’t get a bond release, I wonder if they’re destroyed or in storage etc. I assume they’re not around publicly otherwise I’m sure we all would have known.

 

[W.Velge]

Ah Right I see. Shame the rest didn’t get a bond release, I wonder if they’re destroyed or in storage etc. I assume they’re not around publicly otherwise I’m sure we all would have known.

Actually, the opposite is true. While I cannot confirm the status of BNR34-400755 (as I’ve never been able to find photos of it) that car could be anywhere in the world. However, BNR34-403075 & BCNR33-041616 are still in the US and are still very much driven on the streets.

Actually, I know exactly where that Vspec II Nür car is. Around the time of the pandemic starting, that car was sold from its previous owners who had it for the longest time. It unsurprisingly went to Florida. BCNR33-041616, also went to Florida. A friend of mine got into an argument with one of the previous owners of the Nür car on FaceBook about its legality & other things.

The guy made claims the car was fed legal, but I personally verified that it wasn’t. The guy was reluctant to throw the chassis number out there. Thing is, If you’re tossing around claims a car is Federalized with all the proper paperwork &(or) conformity modifications, Then you should have NO issues divulging chassis #/Vin info, It’s that simple.

 

[TRP]

Actually, the opposite is true. While I cannot confirm the status of BNR34-400755 (as I’ve never been able to find photos of it) that car could be anywhere in the world. However, BNR34-403075 & BCNR33-041616 are still in the US and are still very much driven on the streets.

Actually, I know exactly where that Vspec II Nür car is. Around the time of the pandemic starting, that car was sold from its previous owners who had it for the longest time. It unsurprisingly went to Florida. BCNR33-041616, also went to Florida. A friend of mine got into an argument with one of the previous owners of the Nür car on FaceBook about its legality & other things.

The guy made claims the car was fed legal, but I personally verified that it wasn’t. The guy was reluctant to throw the chassis number out there. Thing is, If you’re tossing around claims a car is Federalized with all the proper paperwork &(or) conformity modifications, Then you should have NO issues divulging chassis #/Vin info, It’s that simple.

Oh so the Nür is still around? I remember the story with that car.
He should know it’s not Fed Legal, I don’t know why he’s arguing with it

 

[matty32]

There’s another very special purple one but can’t reference that in detail

 

[TRP]

There’s another very special purple one but can’t reference that in detail

Midnight Purple Motorex?

 

[W.Velge]

Oh so the Nür is still around? I remember the story with that car.
He should know it’s not Fed Legal, I don’t know why he’s arguing with it

Midnight Purple Motorex?

He’s probably referring to the cars brought in under Show & Display Exemption, Motorex imported ZERO Midnight purple R34 GTRs. They did bring in half a dozen MNP1 R33 GTRs, but that’s it. The R34 GTR they federalized were the commonly Optioned colors. Pearl White, Black Pearl, Bayside Blue, Athlete Silver, Sonic Silver, etc… They comprised of mainly series 1 Vspec cars with a few S1 & S2 Non-Vspec cars & a couple Vspec II, only one Nür car. They could have done Mspec cars, or more nurs, or other rare examples, but it just never happened. Hell, according to Sean Morris, Motorex almost bought all the original remaining HKS ZERO-R R32 GTR off of HKS Japan, but the deal never went thru because those cars were still considered “too ugly and expensive at the time”. Landed & legalized the pricing they offered on R34’s were anywhere from $78,000-$112,000 USD. (Varying on mileage, condition)

 

[W.Velge]

He’s probably referring to the cars brought in under Show & Display Exemption, Motorex imported ZERO Midnight purple R34 GTRs. They did bring in half a dozen MNP1 R33 GTRs, but that’s it. The R34 GTR they federalized were the commonly Optioned colors. Pearl White, Black Pearl, Bayside Blue, Athlete Silver, Sonic Silver, etc… They comprised of mainly series 1 Vspec cars with a few S1 & S2 Non-Vspec cars & a couple Vspec II, only one Nür car. They could have done Mspec cars, or more nurs, or other rare examples, but it just never happened. Hell, according to Sean Morris, Motorex almost bought all the original remaining HKS ZERO-R R32 GTR off of HKS Japan, but the deal never went thru because those cars were still considered “too ugly and expensive at the time”. Landed & legalized the pricing they offered on R34’s were anywhere from $78,000-$112,000 USD. (Varying on mileage, condition)

 

[TRP]

He’s probably referring to the cars brought in under Show & Display Exemption, Motorex imported ZERO Midnight purple R34 GTRs. They did bring in half a dozen MNP1 R33 GTRs, but that’s it. The R34 GTR they federalized were the commonly Optioned colors. Pearl White, Black Pearl, Bayside Blue, Athlete Silver, Sonic Silver, etc… They comprised of mainly series 1 Vspec cars with a few S1 & S2 Non-Vspec cars & a couple Vspec II, only one Nür car. They could have done Mspec cars, or more nurs, or other rare examples, but it just never happened. Hell, according to Sean Morris, Motorex almost bought all the original remaining HKS ZERO-R R32 GTR off of HKS Japan, but the deal never went thru because those cars were still considered “too ugly and expensive at the time”. Landed & legalized the pricing they offered on R34’s were anywhere from $78,000-$112,000 USD. (Varying on mileage, condition)

Ahh right, I was going to say never heard of a Motorex MP R34 GTR. Surprised no one would have picked that colour when they were purchasing one through Motorex. It's actually fortunate they didn't bring M-Spec or Nur's in. As if people found out how they're the "top of the line" R34 GTR's they would be more on the car thieves radars than any other car. If they bought all the Zero-R's they would have been even more rich wow! The price is quite shocking to see, I mean the car was what around $40-50k depending if it was a Nur or not. They must've been making big money!

 

[W.Velge]

Ahh right, I was going to say never heard of a Motorex MP R34 GTR. Surprised no one would have picked that colour when they were purchasing one through Motorex. It's actually fortunate they didn't bring M-Spec or Nur's in. As if people found out how they're the "top of the line" R34 GTR's they would be more on the car thieves radars than any other car. If they bought all the Zero-R's they would have been even more rich wow! The price is quite shocking to see, I mean the car was what around $40-50k depending if it was a Nur or not. They must've been making big money!

On paper it sounded good, But the opposite was true. Money was always getting moved around. Between Importation costs, EPA testing & compliance, NHTSA compliance, & all the other damn federal agencies they had to comply with. Hiro also seemed like he was spending more money than he had. According to Sean and a few others, Motorex only moved 2-3 cars a month in their first couple years. Even when the program started to gain traction, Not many cars were federalized/sold. 120 MotoRex cars (give or take) in 7 years of operation isnt a lot in the grand scheme of things, I remember Sean saying on a podcast with Donut Media, that TopRank USA HAS to sell Atleast 120 cars a year to stay afloat, for reasons I’ll probably never figure out; it was stated that MotoRex didn’t even intend to sell as many R34’s as they did. But yeah, if someone really wanted to buy a skyline in those colors or specs, MotoRex coulda done it, just never happened. (That anyone knows of that is, very unlikely though)

Regarding people discovering the cars, MotoRex & Craig Lieberman unintentionally played a big role in that (with the use of Blackbird & 4 stunt GTRs in 2Fast 2Furious) But Gran Turismo, NFS & Midnight club were out before those movies & all included the R34 GTR, I believe street racing syndicate (I think it was called) Included the Mspec R34. Plus those games arguably had a bigger influence in the cars popularity: me personally? I discovered GTRs through 2Fast. I’m kinda obsessed with the blackbird GTR 😅

 

[TRP]

On paper it sounded good, But the opposite was true. Money was always getting moved around. Between Importation costs, EPA testing & compliance, NHTSA compliance, & all the other damn federal agencies they had to comply with. Hiro also seemed like he was spending more money than he had. According to Sean and a few others, Motorex only moved 2-3 cars a month in their first couple years. Even when the program started to gain traction, Not many cars were federalized/sold. 120 MotoRex cars (give or take) in 7 years of operation isnt a lot in the grand scheme of things, I remember Sean saying on a podcast with Donut Media, that TopRank USA HAS to sell Atleast 120 cars a year to stay afloat, for reasons I’ll probably never figure out; it was stated that MotoRex didn’t even intend to sell as many R34’s as they did. But yeah, if someone really wanted to buy a skyline in those colors or specs, MotoRex coulda done it, just never happened. (That anyone knows of that is, very unlikely though)

Regarding people discovering the cars, MotoRex & Craig Lieberman unintentionally played a big role in that (with the use of Blackbird & 4 stunt GTRs in 2Fast 2Furious) But Gran Turismo, NFS & Midnight club were out before those movies & all included the R34 GTR, I believe street racing syndicate (I think it was called) Included the Mspec R34. Plus those games arguably had a bigger influence in the cars popularity: me personally? I discovered GTRs through 2Fast. I’m kinda obsessed with the blackbird GTR

Ah yes I remember listening to that podcast, was quite interesting!
They could have moved more cars if Hiro wasn’t blowing money on them bars as well as just partying 24/7.
Wonder where Hiro is now, wasn’t he arrested or something? I can’t even remember.

The Blackbird is quite a cool R34 GTR. Even though the 2Fast livery is iconic, i feel like black looks just as good