Tag Archives: Nissan

Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R Nismo Z-Tune | Picture Special

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That’s quite a title. But then this is quite a car.

Created in 2005, the Skyline GT-R (R34) Z-Tune is a factory restomod of sorts, borne via Nissan’s motorsports arm Nismo who bought nineteen lightly used GT-Rs, returned them to factory, and outfitted them with 500bhp GT500 drivetrains.

The result was the most special version of an already special car (which feels a bit weird to say looking at the crap Nissan make today), and one we’re unlikely to ever see, let alone drive.

Today though, we can all have a bit of Nissan at their absolute pinnacle, courtesy of newcomer Grigoriy and his spectacular Technic recreation of the ultimate R34 GT-R.

Blending Technic and Model Team to perfection, Grigoriy’s Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R Nismo Z-Tune is one of of the most visually brilliant Technic creations this site has ever featured, and includes four-wheel-steering, independent suspension, opening hood, doors, and trunk, and a superbly detailed interior and engine.

A complete parts list and building instructions are available – meaning you can build Grigoriy’s R34 GT-R Z-Tune for yourself – and you can find these along with the model discussion at the Eurobricks forum, plus you can check out LEGO’s own official Nissan Skyline R34 Skyline set by clicking on these words.

Walking a Cyber Skyline

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A classic Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R, cyberpunk, bosozoku, and Liberty Walk are quite a lot to squeeze into one model. The result could therefore be described as ‘busy’, but heck it works! This cyberpunked, bosozokued, and Liberty Walk bodykitted Skyline 2000 ‘Kenmeri’ comes from Flickr’s Sergio Batista, and is based on the artwork of Kantaro Gashilo. A glorious mash-up of conflicting aesthetics, there’s more to see at Sergio’s photostream, and you can take a walk through a cyberpunk skyline via the link above.

Skyline Silhouette

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The Lego Car Blog Elves are running about making ‘Vroooom!!’ noises today, courtesy of one of their number finding this. It’s a Nissan Skyline ‘Super Silhouette’ racer, as built by Flickr’s Sergio Batista in Speed Champions form and – despite the annoying noises it has produced in our mythical workforce – it’s a brilliant example of small-scale building. Clever SNOT techniques and superb decals make Sergio’s Skyline far more realistic than its size would suggest, and there’s more to see at his photostream via the link above.

Honour in Tokyo

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We can’t really remember what happens in ‘The Fast and the Furious; Tokyo Drift’, except that one of the characters inexplicably comes back from the dead several movies later, and the Yakuza somehow agree to a street race to decide honour or something.

Anyway, it did have some cool cars, including this modified Nissan Fairlady / 350Z VeilSide, which drifted around a multi-storey car park to decide honour or something.

This excellent Technic recreation of that car comes from previous bloggee ArtemyZotov, who has captured the wide-body exterior and art-car paint from the movie, with the model also featuring a working V6 engine, steering, and opening doors, hood and trunk.

There’s more of Artemy’s ‘Tokyo Drift’ Nissan Fairlady Z to see at the Eurobricks forum, including a link to building instructions so you can race it around at home. For honour or something. Drift over to Tokyo via the link above.

LEGO Technic H2 2025 | Set Previews

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The days are getting longer, skirts are getting shorter, and The Lego Car Blog Elves have returned from their ‘volunteering’ trip over the perimeter wall of LEGO’s HQ. Yes it’s time for us to reveal the brand new LEGO Technic sets for summer 2025, and there are twice as many as last year!

LEGO Technic 42208 Aston Martin Valkyrie

The first of the eight new sets for summer 2025 is this, the 42208 Aston Martin Valykrie. Constructed from 707 pieces, many of which are debuting in dark turquoise, 42208 features a working miniaturised V12 engine, opening doors, working steering, and a tie-up with the ‘Asphalt Legends Unite’ video game. For, um… reasons.

The usual stickerage is deployed for the headlights, lime green pin-striping, and badging, whilst a brand new three-hole-with-cross-axle lift-arm appears for the first time. Aimed at ages 9+ 42208 will cost around £55 / €60 / $65 when it reaches stores this summer.

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LEGO Technic 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Loader

Also aimed at ages 9+, but with around 250 more pieces, is the brand new 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Loader. And it looks brilliant.

An all-mechanical set (hurrah!), 42209 features three linear actuators – turned by hand via cogs mounted at the rear – to raise and tip the new bucket piece. Articulated steering is also controlled via a cog, whilst the ‘engine’ cover lifts to reveal, um… some spinning cylinder thingies. It’s an electric loader after all.

Well-placed decals enhance the visual realism, whilst we expect 42209 might be the pick of the range when it comes to mechanical engineering. Expect it to cost around £90 / €100 / $120 when it arrives later this year.

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LEGO Technic 42210 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) Car

Ten-year-olds rejoice! Because the Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) from ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ is sliding into the LEGO Technic range! Yes, this is the brand new 42210 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 Car.

We’re not sure why LEGO felt the need to add ‘car’ to the title, but no matter; Nissan’s iconic R34-generation Skyline GT-R is finally available in bricks. Over 1,400 of them in fact, which means that the aforementioned ten-year-olds are eight years below the advised age on the box.

We wouldn’t worry about that though; LEGO’s black box and ’18+’ age stamp are purely to make it more acceptable for dads to buy one, and they’ll get a suite of functionality when they do.

A working inline-6 engine lives under the opening hood (which might be driven by all four newly-hub-capped wheels), there’s steering and all-wheel-suspension, opening doors, an adjustable wing, and, um… some balls drop from underneath.

We’d better explain that. Like the 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger set, 42210 includes a play feature that allows the model to replicate scenes from the movie in which it was featured. In this case a pair of balls can be lowed to raise the rear wheels off the ground, allowing the model to drift. Which whether you’re ten or a dad, is sure to make it more fun to drive on the kitchen floor.

Large stickers recreate the movie car’s livery (which is rather necessary here), but most of the other details are brick-built, and you’ll be able to get your hands on 42210 for around £130 / $140 when it drifts into stores this summer.

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LEGO Technic 42211 Lunar Outpost Moon Rover Space Vehicle

We think this set might be based in space. The new 42211 Lunar Outpost Moon Rover Space Vehicle is so spacey LEGO gave it three different space references in the name alone.

Following on from the Technic Space range that surprised all of us last year, 42211 looks… incoherent. A strange robotic crane of sorts, 42211 nevertheless includes some interesting Technic engineering, including oscillating suspension, all-wheel-steering, a rotating and extending crane, and two smaller lunar rovers, one of which appears to munch up rocks and – joy of joys – crystals. LEGO just can’t let them go.

The crane and two smaller rovers all fold neatly into the main rover, and 42211 does feature some unconventional parts, including rubberised tracks not seen for a few years and new wheel covers.

Aimed at ages 10+, the new 1,082-piece set will cost around £90 / €100 / $100 when it lands in stores this summer. Let’s get back to cars…

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LEGO Technic 42212 Ferrari FXX K

…and one that looks really rather good. This is the new 42212 Ferrari FXX K, a 900-piece recreation of Ferrari’s track-only V12 hypercar. Featuring working steering, an opening engine cover and butterfly doors, a V12 piston engine with differential, and another tie-up with the ‘Asphalt Legends Unite’ video game, 42212 is rather formulaic, but it’s a good formula.

Several pieces make their debut in red, and we’re getting used the heavy reliance on stickers. Aimed at ages 10+, expect 42112 to cost £55 / $65 when it reaches stores later this year.

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LEGO Technic 42213 Ford Bronco SUV

With a few more pieces, but a slightly lower target age, the new 42213 Ford Bronco SUV brings Ford’s iconic off-roader to the Technic range for the first time.

We think it looks great too, with opening doors, working steering (via the spare wheel), front and live-axle rear suspension, a V6 engine under the raising hood, plus new fender parts and tyres.

Expected to cost £55 / $65, 42213 looks to be quite good value (these things are relative), and is perhaps our pick of the cars for H2 2025.

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LEGO Technic 42214 Lamborghini Revuelto

The seventh new set for H2 2025 continues another longstanding brand partnership, as Lamborghini’s new supercar joins the Technic line-up in the form of the 42214 Lamborghini Revuelto.

Lamborghini claim the Revuelto is “The first HPEV (High Performance Electrified Vehicle) hybrid super sports car”, which conveniently ignores all the other high performance hybrid supercars that have proceeded it.

Still, let’s not get bogged down in marketing, because LEGO’s Lamborghini Revuelto is electrified too, with motorised steering, drive, head and tail lights, all controlled remotely via the Control+ app.

Aimed at ages 10+, 42214 will charge into stores later this year, with 1,135 pieces, ‘Asphalt Legend Unite’ness, and an £160/ $180 price-tag.

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LEGO Technic 42215 Volvo EC500 Hybrid Excavator

And finally, the eighth model to join the H2 2025 Technic line-up is the new flagship; this is the 42215 Volvo EC500 Hybrid Excavator.

Weighing in at over 2,300 pieces, 42215 is a fully motorised – but not remote control – recreation of Volvo’s fifty ton excavator, deploying a mechanically operated gearbox to switch between various functions.

These include the boom, arm and bucket/drill attachments, whilst the superstructure and tracks can rotate manually. That enormous boom is raised and lowered by LEGO’s XL linear actuators, which appear in black for the first time, with a single motor providing the power.

Motorised functions via a mechanical gearbox is a combination we like, as evidenced here, here, and here, so we’re rather excited about the big Volvo. We’re less excited about the price however, as despite that single motor 42115 is expected to cost £350 / $430, meaning it’ll excavate your wallet before it excavates anything else.

Aimed at 18+ (perhaps legitimately this time), 42215 will be available to buy later this year, if you’re diggin’ it.

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There you have it, eight new Technic sets, seven officially-licensed real world vehicles across six different manufacturers, one vehicle from space, and one that’s got balls. Here at The Lego Car Blog at least, we think it’s a rather good line up.

Gran Turismo 2

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Much like Toyota’s ‘A80’ Supra is forever bound to ‘The Fast & The Furious’, Nissan’s ‘R34’ Skyline GT-R will be associated in perpetuity with the Gran Turismo video game franchise.

Although its production run spanned just three years, the R34 was – through those famous pixels – an automotive zeitgeist, defining an entire generation’s interaction with cars.

Cue this superb brick-built homage to Nissan’s legendary performance saloon, constructed by recent bloggee Mihail Rakovskiy, which is more lifelike than anything we drove on a Playstation.

Opening doors, hood, and trunk, a detailed ‘RB26DETT’ engine and drivetrain, and even an interior fit for a Technic figure all feature, and you can reimagine you’re back in an R34 at Trial Mountain in the early ’00s via the link to Flickr above.

Three-Hundred Zeds

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In 2025, in TLCB’s home market, Nissan sell exactly nothing that we would want to buy, own, sit in, or be seen in. Back in the early ’90s though, and Nissan were altogether more exciting.

This is just one of several sports cars Nissan used to sell before they gave up trying to do anything at all, the fabulous second-generation 300ZX.

Launched in the late ’80s, the 300ZX was ridiculously futuristic, and utilised one of the first supercomputers (and – at the time – the world’s fastest) in its design. It was also powerful, with a naturally-aspirated V6 producing over 220bhp or a twin-turbo over 300bhp – big figures for the time.

Cue this brilliant Model Team replica of Nissan’s high water mark, created by previous bloggee Mihail Rakovskiy, who has captured the 300ZX beautifully.

Opening doors and hood, a ‘glass’ targa roof, and a superbly detailed interior, engine bay, and drivetrain all feature, and you can jump back to a time when Nissan made something other than wheeled sleeping pills at Mihail’s ‘Nissan 300ZX’ album.

Click the link above for a very different sort of Z to ones Nissan induce today.

Adding an ‘R’

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If you’re from the Playstation Generation, this is the coolest car ever made. Apart from maybe a Supra. Constructed by Flickr’s Michał Wolski (aka Porsche96), this Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 is built only from the parts found within the 42154 Ford GT set, and features working steering, opening doors, hood and trunk, and an inline-6 cylinder engine with nearly as much hype as Toyota’s 2JZ. An an ‘R’ to your Ford GT via the link above!

Blessed be the Fruit

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We’re beginning the week here at The Lego Car Blog with a whole lot of apples. This is p.vanderloo’s fabulous ‘Holland Fruit’ diorama; a stunningly detailed (and photographed) homage to the apple industry, complete with two absolutely beautiful classic DAF trucks.

The larger of the two – a 1960’s DAF 1800 DS300 – has appeared here before, and is now joined by an equally lovely DAF D50 curtain-sided flatbed, as well as a Nissan forklift.

All three models are spectacularly detailed, with their jaw-dropping realism enhanced by superb period-correct decals, and you can see much more of each at p.vanderloo’s ‘Holland Fruit’ album on Flickr. Take a look via the link.

Alternate Godzilla

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Neither Ford nor Nissan are renowned as exotic car brands, yet each has made a vehicle that has shot straight to the top of enthusiasts’ wish lists, in the form of the Ford GT and Nissan Skyline GT-R.

Cue Alex Ilea, who has constructed this fantastic R34-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R solely using the parts from the official LEGO Technic 42154 Ford GT set. He’s used nearly every single one too, with just 33 (2%) of the original parts list left unused.

Working steering, an inline 6-cylinder engine, all-wheel independent suspension, plus opening doors and hood all feature, and you can take a closer a look (as well as find a link to building instructions) at the Eurobricks forum, you can view the complete gallery of images at Bricksafe, and you can find Alex’s other legendary ’90s Japanese sports car built from the 42154 Ford GT set by clicking here.

My Other Car’s a Camaro

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LEGO’s 10304 Icons Chevrolet Camaro Z28 set has proven a hugely popular source of alternative builds. Half-a-dozen have already reside in our archives, including a Porsche 911, Pontiac Firebird, and even a Golf GTI.

Today we’re adding another, as TLCB Master MOCer Firas Abu-Jaber has turned the ’70s American 2-door coupe into, well… a Japanese one.

Launching two years after the Camaro, the Datsun 240Z ‘Fairlady’ took the US by storm, offering good performance, reliability, and relative efficiency, all for just $200 more than an MGB.

This brilliant 1:13 replica of Japan’s most successful ’70s sports car recreates the 240Z solely from the parts found within the 10304 Chevrolet Camaro set, and includes a detailed engine under the raising hood, a realistic interior behind opening doors, an opening tailgate, and working steering too.

There’s lots more of this 10304 alternate to see at Firas’ ‘Fairlady 240Z’ album on Flickr, where full details (including a link to instructions) can be found. Switch your Camaro for a 240Z via the link above, plus you can read the builder’s interview here at The Lego Car Blog via the Master MOCers third link in this post’s text.

Super Skyline

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It’s the early-’80s, and everything is ‘turbocharged’; sunglasses, baseball caps, pens… plus, in rare cases, cars. This is one of them, the nuts Nissan Skyline KDR30 ‘Super Silhouette’.

First racing in 1982, the KDR30 was built on a tubular steel space-frame, with sort-of-Skyline sedan bodywork placed over the top, hence the moniker.

A 2.1 litre straight-4 engine was mounted upfront, attached to the mother and father of all turbos. The result was nearly 600 flame-splitting horses, powering the KDR30 to multiple race wins in Group 5 from 1982 to 1984. And many a Grand Turismo racer – as that’s how most readers will know this car – into the digital armco.

This spectacular brick-built replica of the Skyline KDR30 ‘Super Silhouette’ is the work of TLCB Master MOCer Nico71, who has recreated the formidable 1982 racer in astonishing detail.

Underneath the wonderfully accurate body – which wears the real car’s racing livery – is a fully remote controlled drivetrain, courtesy of a third-party BuWizz bluetooth battery, an L Motor powering the rear wheels, and a Servo the steering.

A detailed working replica of the 4-cylinder engine, and the massive turbo that accompanied it, can be found up front, with it – as well as the trunk and hood – easily removable.

3D-printed wheels complete the incredible realism, and the car is available to build in both remote control and manual configurations via Nico’s excellent building instructions, which he’s released alongside full details and imagery.

You can find them and the complete specifications at Nico’s website, the full gallery on Brickshelf, and you can watch both the model and the real car in action (the real one spits considerably more flame) via the video below.

YouTube Video

Drift Tax

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Do you own a Japanese sports car from the 1990s? If so, your retirement is paid for. Because at the current trajectory, previously near-worthless Japanese metal will be valued at around $1billion a piece by 2030.

Supras, worth under £10,000 in TLCB’s home nation just a decade ago, are now up to £50,000. MR2s, which were scrap value just a few years ago, now make £10,000. And the humble Nissan 240SX – even a knackered ‘project car’, now costs five figures, with good examples north of £20,000. For a thirty year old Nissan!

We don’t pretend to understand it, but we suspect much of the hype is down to the video games Gen-X-ers and Millennials played two decades ago, which were awash with modified Japanese metal.

The resultant phenomenon today is a boom in ’90s Japanese sports cars, with all of them ending up looking likes this; 1saac W.’s superb modified Nissan Silvia / 240SX. Wide wheels, silly camber, a phat exhaust, and huge aero tick all the drifty boxes, and you can take a closer look at 1saac’s immensely valuable Nissan at his photostream.

Click the link above to pay the Drift Tax, whilst we rue the fact that Gran Turismo didn’t feature the sheddy old Rovers that make up TLCB carpark instead of ’90s Japanese sports cars…

Speed Champions 76917 ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) | Set Preview

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Our sneaky Elves have unearthed another new-for-2023 LEGO set, and the names just keep getting longer. This is the brand new Speed Champions 76917 ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34).

As featured in the Oscar-winning 2003 ‘The Fast and the Furious’ sequel… wait, no that’s not right… Ah yes, the awful 2003 ‘The Fast and the Furious’ sequel, Brian O’Conner’s modified Nissan Skyline GT-R was as integral to the plot as street racing culture, something about drugs, and saying ‘bruh’ in every line of dialogue.

LEGO’s officially-licensed Speed Champions set recreates Brian’s whip really rather well to our eyes, with a decent balance between brick-built detail and decals, utilising plenty of ‘SNOT’ techniques.

Aimed at ages 9+, the Speed Champions 76917 ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) set includes 319 pieces, a ‘Brian O’Conner’ mini-figure, and will reach stores in early 2023. Will that Supra be next?

Calsonic Skyline

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This is the Calsonic-sponsored Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 from the early-’00s Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, but of course, you probably already knew that.

Whilst Alexander Paschoaletto‘s brilliant Skyline GT-R R34 doesn’t say ‘Calsonic’ anywhere on it, we (and most likely you) would have recognised it anywhere. That’s because this car is burned into our psyche (and retinas) from Gran Turismo, where it has, in various generations, featured as one of the star cars for over two decades.

White 3D-printed wheels, blue bodywork, and a yellow sun-strip have transported us right back to hours of early-’00s pixellated racing, and you can join us at the Deep Forest Raceway courtesy of Alexander’s photostream via the link above.