Driver trades $400,000 performance car for Nissan Leaf

The arrival of electric vehicles to the mainstream market has seen drivers worldwide think more critically about their internal combustion vehicles, perhaps considering environmental footprint, or even simply the price they pay on fueling it with petrol each week.

We have witnessed plenty of friends and family make the trade from ICE to electric, although few trades we’ve witnessed are quite as extreme as this.

Eagers Nissan is a dealership in Brisbane’s CBD, and ordinarily a fairly unlikely source of viral news. However that changed this week, with the brand publishing a post on social media detailing a customer (named Barry) and his unique trade-in.

According to the post, Barry traded in a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R V Spec II for a brand new Nissan Leaf in what the dealership said was a “straight swap”.

“With rising fuel prices, Barry couldn’t justify keeping his R34 GT-R V Spec II any longer. Luckily for him, we were able to do a straight swap into a brand new fully electric Nissan Leaf,” says the post.

“We hope you like your new ride Barry, happy motoring for what will be a green future.”

For those in the electric car space who are less read on petrolhead car culture, the R34 GT-R is a cult figure among enthusiasts around the world, thanks to its appearances in video games and movies, as well as its connection to the Nissan GT-R dynasty.

While R34 GT-Rs have always been very expensive to purchase on the second-hand market, enormous demand from US buyers and the recent boom in Japanese performance car prices have seen their prices explode.

The cheapest locally advertised GT-R is priced at a whopping $288,880, with two other examples listed on TradeMe for $320,000 and a staggering $449,990, respectively. Being a Bayside Blue V Spec II, it’s likely that ‘Barry’s’ example could net him at least $400,000 in the New Zealand market.

Given the enormous pricing disparity in the two vehicles (a new Leaf retails in New Zealand for $59,990), it’s highly likely that the post is a publicity stunt, and not a genuine trade-in. Especially given that the company says the trade was a “straight swap”.

Indeed, if this was the intention then the post is working perfectly. At the time of writing, it had attracted 14,000 reactions, 9,000 comments, and 12,000 shares on Facebook. A cheap and thoroughly amusing away for a dealership to attract eyeballs.