Nissan Ends R35 GT-R Production After 18-Year Legacy
After 18 years, Nissan today marks the end of R35 GT-R production, as assembly for the Japanese domestic market—the model’s last sales region—comes to a close. Since its 2007 launch, the Nissan R35 GT-R has defined performance and innovation, captivating enthusiasts and setting benchmarks in the high-performance sports car class.
Workers at Nissan’s Tochigi plant, about 100 km north of Tokyo, gathered to celebrate the R35’s extensive legacy as the final car left the line. Over its lifecycle, Nissan produced and sold approximately 48,000 units. The last vehicle, a Premium Edition T-Spec in Midnight Purple, will be delivered to a customer in Japan.
Ivan Espinosa, President and CEO of Nissan, said, “After 18 remarkable years, the R35 GT-R has left an enduring mark on automotive history. Its legacy is a testament to the passion of our team and the loyalty of our customers worldwide. Thank you for being part of this extraordinary journey. To the many fans of the GT-R worldwide, I want to tell you this isn’t a goodbye to the GT-R forever; it’s our goal for the GT-R nameplate to one day make a return.”
Across its long run, the R35 GT-R set a new standard for a true Grand Tourer. Nissan’s planning and engineering team pursued a “multi-performance” character, delivering a GT with a comfortable ride, high refinement, and benchmark fit and finish, while enabling drivers to enjoy world-class performance that embodies the “R” in GT-R —a nod to racing technology. Rather than a single mid-cycle overhaul, Nissan evolved the R35 year by year. Depending on grade, engineers targeted more power, greater control, and increased comfort and luxury. In GT-R NISMO form, they honed breathtaking track performance.
Powered by the VR38DETT twin-turbo V6, paired with the acclaimed ATTESA ET-S all-wheel-drive system and innovative aerodynamics, the Nissan GT-R delivered exhilarating pace on road and track. Remarkably, over the entire production run, a core team of just nine master craftsmen, called Takumi, at Nissan’s Yokohama plant hand-assembled every engine fitted to the 48,000 cars. Each unit carries a plaque bearing the name of its builder, a tradition that underlines the car’s artisanal engineering.
Output rose from 353 kW (480 PS) at launch to 419 kW (570 PS) from the 2017 model year onward. NISMO engineers pushed further by adopting GT3 race car-spec turbochargers and high-precision, weight-balanced components, including piston rings, connecting rods, crankshaft, flywheel, crank pulley, and valve springs. The upgrades delivered faster revs and quicker turbo response, with GT-R NISMO models reaching up to 441 kW (600 PS).
On track, the R35 GT-R departs with an enviable roll of honour. It claimed five GT500-class and three GT300-class titles in Japan’s SUPER GT Championship, won the 2013 Blancpain GT Series Pro-Am class, triumphed at the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2015, and secured five Super Taikyu Japanese endurance crowns. At the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 2007, a production R35 recorded a time of 7 minutes 38 seconds despite slight damp patches.
In early 2008, using a base-spec car on standard Japanese domestic market tyres, chief test driver Toshio Suzuki improved to 7 minutes 29 seconds, breaking the seven-and-a-half-minute barrier. The team returned a year later to set a new record of 7 minutes 26 seconds, and in October 2012, the GT-R cut that to 7 minutes 18 seconds. In November 2013, ahead of its official reveal, a GT-R NISMO with track options for aero tuning, weight reduction, and a unique suspension setup achieved a time of 7 minutes 8.679 seconds with Michael Krumm at the wheel, the R35’s best time at the circuit.
Closer to home, the NISMO team targeted Tsukuba Circuit. In December 2019, with driver Tsugio Matsuda, a 2020 GT-R NISMO set a production-car lap of 59.361 seconds, beating the previous record. A 0.3-second gain equates to roughly 10 metres at the line, or a little more than two car lengths. The team returned in January 2024 with a 2024 GT-R NISMO and, with Matsuda again at the wheel, lowered the benchmark by 0.283 seconds to 59.078 seconds.
The R35 also delivered spectacular feats beyond circuit racing. In 2016, a specially tuned MY16 GT-R set a Guinness World Records title for the fastest ever drift, sliding at 304.96 km/h at a 30-degree angle on the runway at Fujairah International Airport in the UAE.
As the R35 GT-R bows out, Nissan reaffirms its commitment to the GT-R nameplate and its future. Lessons from the R35 will inform the next-generation Nissan GT-R, ensuring the legend evolves while raising the performance bar for supercars. Espinosa said, “We understand the expectations are high, the GT-R badge is not something that can be applied to just any vehicle; it is reserved for something truly special, and the R35 set the bar high. So, all I can ask is for your patience. While we don’t have a precise plan finalised today, the GT-R will evolve and reemerge in the future.”
