Sometimes life stands in between you and your dream car. Mr. Michi, the man behind Japan's Tochigi-based 09 Racing, found himself in this conundrum. As the owner of a motorcycle shop, Michi had a need to transport bikes in his truck. He spent more of his time in the cab of his Nissan Sunny than in his OG Nissan Skyline GT-R aka Hakosuka. Rather than accept the two as separate experiences, he sought to combine the two.
According to a special highlight video uploaded by YouTube channel Tokyo Tuner, while Michi wanted to own both the work truck and the GT-R, he said his finances would not allow him to keep both and spruce up the truck. So, he sold the Skyline in early-2013 to finance his truck project. He calls the resulting vehicle "Hakotora," a portmanteau of Hakosuka and the Japanese word for truck, torakku. The "GB-R" badge, a play on GT-R, is suspected to come from the Sunny's "B" chassis code.
The Hakotora is still largely function over form underneath, with anchoring gear in the bed to haul bikes, and a nearly stock four-cylinder engine as opposed to the 2.0 liter inline six found in the Hakosuka itself. It's still a work in progress in need of a rear suspension modification to resist bottoming out with bikes in the back, but plans for those changes are in development.
As for the bikes, they no longer dominate his business; fans of his Hakotora have crawled out from the woodwork to demand replica kits for their own pickups, now accounting for around half of his customers, according to Michi. Hakotora kits cost up to 338,100 yen ($3,046) according to 09 Racing's website, with international shipping adding up to another 240,000 yen ($2,000), for a maximum price of around $5,200.
The Drive reached out to 09 Racing for further information on the Hakotora and will provide an update when we hear back.