Man Swaps Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 For Nissan Leaf: PR Stunt Or Real?

A Nissan dealership in Australia has seemingly just taken an iconic Skyline GT-R in as a swap for an electric Leaf. Eagers Nissan posted a photo of a man named Barry holding the keys of a Nissan Leaf, and a sad Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 in what appears to be Wangan Blue sat in the background with the caption: ‘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.’

A straight swap?! It’s safe to say our hearts dropped when we read it, and so must those of thousands, maybe millions of admirers of the original Gran Turismo, 2 Fast 2 Furious or simply the GT-R’s iconic RB26DETT twin-turbo straight six, as the post has gone viral on Facebook.

Even non-car guys can appreciate how short-changed you would be if you swapped a highly sought-after Skyline GT-R R34 worth upwards of $80,000 (£70,000) – one Skyline GT-R even sold for $549,000 (£480,000) – for a Leaf starting from just under $30,000.

Of course, we’re just as sceptical as you are – we think, or at least hope, this is some clever marketing stunt unleashed by the Nissan dealer. After all, you wouldn’t look as happy as Barry if you’d done the same. One thing’s for sure: plenty of car guys have now heard of Eagers Nissan, although we’re not sure how likely it is that the post will make JDM fanboys want to buy a Nissan Leaf. Of course, we’d take a Leaf to the dealership if it’s prepared to make the swap the other way round…