Import a Nissan Silvia S15 from Japan to Ireland: what it really costs, now and at 30
The last Silvia, January 1999 to August 2002: Spec-R with the 250 ps SR20DET and six-speed, Spec-S with the naturally aspirated SR20DE, and the Autech Varietta convertible.
The S15 is the most searched drift car in Ireland and the one whose economics turn entirely on a date. Registered today it is a 24- to 27-year-old car with no European CO2 figure, so Revenue bands it at 41% of a valuation that has been climbing for a decade: on €40,000 that is €16,400 of VRT plus the €600 NOx default. Registered at 30, which the first cars reach in January 2029 and the last in August 2032, it is €200 and no levy.
That gap, €10,000 to €17,000 on a clean Spec-R, is the whole decision. It cannot be closed by paperwork, because a CO2 disclosure for an SR20DET comes back far above the 190 g/km line and changes nothing but the NOx figure. It can only be closed by timing, and the timing has to happen in Japan: a car that lands here must be registered within 30 days, track use or not.
- Customs duty
- 0%
- With a Statement on Origin; 10% without one.
- VRT in the scenarios
- 0% to 41%
- of Revenue’s valuation, by CO2 band
- Landed, incl. fee
- €33,432 to €50,332
- across the scenarios and CO2 assumptions
- Exchange rate
- 180.94 ¥/€
- ECB, 18 Sept 2026, with the 2% buffer
Worked scenarios
Computed with the same engine as the calculator when this page was built. Prices and Irish values are assumptions. CO2 evidence would not change the band for this car: tested at 200, 235, 270 g/km it is 41% every time, so evidence only moves the NOx line. Open any row and replace the assumptions with a real car.
| Car | Price in Japan | Irish value | CO2 → band | Landed incl. fee | Open in calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Spec-R six-speed, 110,000 km, registered nowPetrol | ¥4,200,000 | €40,000 | 235 NEDC → 251 → band 20, 41% | €50,332 | Open |
| 2001 Spec-S five-speed, 90,000 km, registered nowPetrol | ¥2,600,000 | €27,000 | 205 NEDC → 224 → band 20, 41% | €33,793 | Open |
| 1999 Spec-R six-speed, 110,000 km, registered after its 30th birthdayPetrol · registered 1 Jul 2029 | ¥4,200,000 | €40,000 | 30 years old → vintage rate, €200 | €33,432 | Open |
- 1999 Spec-R six-speed, 110,000 km, registered now: A grade 4 Spec-R at the middle of the 2026 range. A disclosure is assumed to return about 235 g/km NEDC, which is band 20 (41%) exactly as no evidence would be; NOx left at the €600 default.
- 2001 Spec-S five-speed, 90,000 km, registered now: A standard naturally aspirated car; value an estimate against the Spec-R listings. At 205 g/km NEDC the uplifted figure is still above 190, so 41%.
- 1999 Spec-R six-speed, 110,000 km, registered after its 30th birthday: The same car, priced as registered in July 2029 when it turns 30: €200 of VRT, no NOx levy, no CO2 question. It would have to stay in Japan until then (V21, V25).
VRT and the OMSP
Under 30 the S15 is in band 20 at 41% whatever evidence is produced, because its real CO2 figure is well above 190 g/km. The variable is the Irish valuation: at €40,000 the VRT is €16,400, at €32,000 it is €13,120. Revenue will lean on the few Irish listings, and a modified car has no clean comparable at all.
The first S15s turn 30 in January 2029 and the last in August 2032, counted to the month from the first registration on the export certificate. A car registered on or after that date pays €200. The lawful way to wait is in Japan, not in an Irish shed (V21).
NOx levy
A petrol car with no NOx evidence pays the €600 default. A disclosure for these engines typically returns 40 to 80 mg/km, a levy of €200 to €800, so the evidence is worth having but it does not change the band: the CO2 figure is above 190 g/km either way. At 30 years or more the levy does not apply on our reading (being confirmed, V20).
Without evidence Revenue charges €600 for petrol and hybrid cars, €4,850 for diesels.
Customs duty and origin
Japanese-built, so 0% customs duty applies with a Statement on Origin from the exporter; without it 10% of the customs value is charged and VAT is charged on the duty too. Heading 9705 adds nothing to a Japanese-built car over 30: the duty is already nil and Revenue keeps the VAT at 23% for a car that will be driven (V19). A modified car is still the same car for duty: origin follows the shell, not the engine in it.
Built in: Japan (Nissan Kyushu plant, Kanda, Fukuoka). Japanese-built, so the EU–Japan 0% duty rate applies with a Statement on Origin.
Insurance
A specialist or agreed-value policy with modifications declared, a minimum driver age in the late twenties, and a loading that reflects the car’s reputation. Howden Ireland writes a Japanese-import product with agreed value; expect questions and photographs. A road policy never covers track use, and the only Irish track-day cover is the trackdays.ie arrangement at €100 to €350 a day.
Generations
- Spec-R (1999 to 2002): SR20DET with a ball-bearing turbo, 250 ps, six-speed manual or four-speed automatic, helical limited-slip differential, larger brakes and stiffer shell bracing. The drift and collector car.
- Spec-S (1999 to 2002): SR20DE, 165 ps, five-speed or automatic, lighter and cheaper, and the usual base for a turbo conversion. Autech Version (200 ps naturally aspirated) and the Varietta convertible are the rarities.
- Aero packages, Nismo and Kids Heart special editions add value at auction when documented; a Spec-R badge on a Spec-S shell does not, and the chassis number tells them apart.
Before you bid
- Spec-R or Spec-S: the chassis number and the auction sheet settle it, not the badges or the turbo under the bonnet.
- Welded or two-way differentials, hydraulic handbrakes, cut springs and knock-off coil-overs all appear on cars that read as standard in the photographs; ask for the auction sheet and underside pictures before you bid.
- Grade R and RA are repaired cars, common in this trade. Look at the chassis rails, the strut towers and the rear quarters in the pictures, and price a repaired shell as one.
- A Japanese bolt-in cage is not a competition cage here: Drift Masters has prohibited them since 2016 and Irish series run to FIA-style weld-in specifications. Budget for a cage if you intend to compete.
- A caged, lowered or non-running car cannot go on RoRo. Price the container in from the start, alone or shared.
- Japanese tyres often lack the E-mark the NCT requires: budget €300–600 for a set.
Where the numbers come from
- Japanese prices in mid-2026 ran from about ¥1,400,000 for a tired Spec-S to ¥8,000,000 and beyond for a museum-grade Spec-R, with clean, largely standard Spec-R cars mostly between ¥3,500,000 and ¥6,000,000 (exporter listings and auction results; directional).
- Irish asking prices in September 2026: a 2002 Spec R with 110,000 km at €39,000 in Westmeath; Adverts.ie returned 64 S15 results and DoneDeal 18, most of them parts (dated classifieds).
- Irish values are set by a handful of listings, which is exactly the situation in which Revenue’s valuation of a modified car becomes a judgement; read the range on the estimate rather than the middle.
Questions people ask
How much VRT does an S15 pay?
Registered before its 30th birthday, 41% of Revenue’s valuation plus the €600 NOx default: on €40,000 that is €16,400 and €600. Registered at 30 or more, €200 and no levy. The first cars reach 30 in January 2029.
Will a CO2 disclosure lower the band?
No. An SR20DET certifies far above 190 g/km, so the car is in the 41% band with or without a figure. A disclosure only changes the NOx levy, from the €600 default to a figure based on the certified NOx.
Can I buy it now and register it when it turns 30?
Not by keeping it unregistered in Ireland. The lawful route is to leave the car in Japan, in storage at the exporter’s yard, until its 30th birthday and ship it then; we are pricing that storage (V25). The calculator shows the landed cost on both dates for any car under 30.
If it only ever goes to the track, do I still pay VRT?
Yes. A vehicle kept in the State must be registered within 30 days of arrival, and possession of an unregistered vehicle is an offence under the Finance Act 1992. Revenue’s competition exemption covers a car that comes in for an event and leaves again, not one that lives here. We are confirming this in writing (V21) and will not advise around it.
Is an S15 duty-free?
Yes, with a Statement on Origin from the exporter, because it was built in Japan. Without the statement 10% duty is charged on the customs value, about €2,600 on a ¥4,200,000 car, plus VAT on the duty.
How long does the import take?
Typically 8 to 14 weeks from auction to Irish plates: a week or two in Japan for deregistration and export paperwork, four to six at sea, then customs clearance, the NCTS appointment and registration.
Price a real Silvia S15
Put a real auction listing into the calculator: hammer price, mileage and the CO2 figure if you have it. You get every cost line and a range, and you can send it to us for sourcing from there.
Other models
Rules version 2026-09-17. Estimates only; VRT is assessed by Revenue at registration. Page computed at build time; the calculator uses the exchange rate of the day.