During the golden era of JDM, Nissan created the Stagea, a performance station wagon to take on the Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon. What made it so special was that it shared its platform and mechanical DNA with the Nissan Skyline R33 and R34, as well as the Nissan Laurel. In other words, it was essentially a Skyline pretending to be a family car. Now, Hot Wheels is paying tribute to this legendary sleeper with the Hot Wheels Elite 64 Mod Shop Nissan Stagea.
Like its real-world counterpart, this isn’t your average 1:64-scale wagon either. Hot Wheels has turned the Stagea into a miniature tuner project with a generous helping of customization. The biggest party trick, IMHO, is the two swappable front ends. You can keep it faithful to the Stagea Autech Version 260RS or perform the legendary R34 Skyline GT-R front-end conversion that has become a favourite among Stagea enthusiasts (yes!).
The fun doesn’t stop there. The model also includes two sets of Real Riders wheels, allowing you to switch between the factory Autech look and a NISMO-inspired build with LMGT4 wheels. Throw in the removable roof rack, and you can go from family grocery getter to weekend track-day hero in minutes.
Hot Wheels even sculpted the twin-turbo 2.6-litre RB26DETT under the hood, because what’s a Stagea without the engine that powered one of Nissan’s greatest performance legends?
Finished in gloss Lightning Yellow with a full-metal ZAMAC body and chassis, the Hot Wheels Elite 64 Mod Shop Nissan Stagea is available to pre-order now for US$32.
Images: Mattel.
