Cars have to be tested to certain safety standards. The R34 probably could have met them in the US (or be easily modified to meet them), but Nissan never bothered. They never wanted to sell it as a road car at all, and only did so because they wanted to get into a racing series that required a certain number of cars to be sold on the open market.
Yes, this is how the law works. The auto industry is covered by a lot of protectionism this way; it didn’t start with Chinese EVs. There is a 15 year time limit, so you can get them now without trouble if you want.
Cars have to be tested to certain safety standards. The R34 probably could have met them in the US (or be easily modified to meet them), but Nissan never bothered. They never wanted to sell it as a road car at all, and only did so because they wanted to get into a racing series that required a certain number of cars to be sold on the open market.
Yes, this is how the law works. The auto industry is covered by a lot of protectionism this way; it didn’t start with Chinese EVs. There is a 15 year time limit, so you can get them now without trouble if you want.