Stratum

In Grand Theft Auto VI’s first trailer, the Stratum is visible only from the rear in the opening freeway sequence. It is among dense traffic in Hamlet, near the Leonida Penitentiary. No GTA VI-specific mechanical, interior, trim, or customization details have been shown.

The front styling chiefly draws on the R32-generation Nissan Skyline sedan: its raised bonnet, narrow grille, badge placement, headlamp shape, side crease, and broad rear-quarter shoulder all carry over. Zirconium’s version extends that sedan theme into a wagon, with an unbroken roofline leading to a hatchback rear.

Its tail lamps are taken directly from the fourth-generation Chevrolet Caprice sedan. The rear bumper has a looser resemblance to the first-generation Subaru Impreza wagon, while the hatch lettering placement recalls the first-generation Isuzu Impulse. The lettering itself may reference the SATURN branding used across the rear bumper of Saturn SW wagons. Spoiler-equipped examples carry 2.6L twin-turbo badging, referencing Nissan’s RB26DETT engine used in Skyline GT-R production models from 1989 to 2002.

The Stratum returned from its 3D Universe form in GTA IV with a more streamlined, sportier shape than the Solair and Ingot. GTA IV added small intake openings beside the plate, rectangular fog lamps in dark bumper strips, Zirconium fender badges, a rear roof aerial, extra rear lighting, yellow hatch reflectors, and a titanium-tipped exhaust on the driver’s side. The hatch also carried Zirconium and 2.6 GT marks, with STRATUM pressed into the panel between the lamps.

GTA V and GTA Online retained the exterior design and optional exterior pieces, but changed the Zirconium badges from red to blue. Enhanced editions use the Feroci interior shared with the Ingot and Intruder. In those games, the Stratum is classified as a Sedan despite its midsize station-wagon body.

Traffic examples can have a lower front lip, either a glass or solid sunroof insert, roof-mounted luggage rails, and a spoiler above the rear glass. Some appear without a sunroof component. Fitting the spoiler also adds a Twin Turbo hatch badge. These extras remained in GTA V and Online, though modification shops do not offer them as selectable upgrades. The standard wheels are seven-spoke rims with medium-profile tyres; GTA V shares that wheel design with the Asterope.

In GTA IV, the car uses a turbocharged inline-four and five-speed transmission driving the rear wheels, despite the optional twin-turbo label. Its GTA V and Online version keeps that engine and gearbox but changes to all-wheel drive, with torque split 40 percent front and 60 percent rear. GTA IV handling combines good bump absorption and respectable braking with potentially strong oversteer; collision damage generally leaves the body intact, but impacts can disable the engine quickly. GTA V makes it lighter-feeling and more responsive, though its steering remains heavy and braking trails other vehicles in its class.

In GTA IV, Stratums appear around Broker, South Bohan, Easton, and The Triangle, and can be encountered in multiplayer traffic. They do not have equivalents in The Lost and Damned or The Ballad of Gay Tony. After Stevie’s Car Thefts are completed, his garage pays $1,800 for one.

GTA V and Online place them on Nowhere Road and commonly in Sandy Shores and the Grand Senora Desert, with occasional examples in Vinewood Hills. They can also be parked at The Diamond Casino & Resort. Online formerly sold the car through Southern San Andreas Super Autos for $10,000, before the San Andreas Mercenaries update removed it from that website in enhanced versions; Rockstar Games Social Club still incorrectly lists it for sale. Selling one at Los Santos Customs returns $1,000. In GTA IV, its front indicators illuminate the ground reflection but not the lamps themselves. In GTA V and Online, the exhaust tip clips slightly through the rear bumper.