TOCHIGI, Japan: After 18 years, Nissan has ended production for the R35 GT-R.
Nissan said assembly for Japan - the final sales region for the model - has ended.
Since its launch in 2007, the R35 GT-R has set benchmarks in the high-performance sports car segment, and about 48,000 units were produced and sold.
The final vehicle, a Premium edition T-Spec, finished in Midnight Purple paint, is destined for a customer in Japan.
Workers at Nissan’s Tochigi plant, located about 100km north of Tokyo, recently gathered to celebrate the extensive legacy of the R35 as the very last unit rolled off the line.
Nissan president and CEO Ivan Espinosa 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 around the globe."
"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.”
"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.”
With its powerful VR38DETT twin-turbo V6 engine, acclaimed ATTESA ET-S all-wheel-drive system, and innovative aerodynamics, the R35 GT-R consistently delivered exhilarating driving experiences both on the road and the track.
Remarkably, over the course of its production run, a core team of just nine master craftsman – called Takumi – at Nissan's plant in Yokohama, Japan passionately hand assembled each of the engines installed in the 48,000 units produced.
Their names are immortalized on a plaque attached to each engine.
Throughout the course of production, maximum power rose from 353kW (480ps) at launch, up to 419kW (570ps) from the 2017 model year onwards.
In parallel, Nismo engineers were able to extract even more, adopting GT3 racecar-spec turbochargers as well as high-precision, weight-balanced parts including the piston rings, connecting rods, crankshaft, flywheel, crank pulley and valve springs.
The result was faster revs and quicker spooling turbo, delivering up to 441kW (600ps) for GT-R NISMO models.
The R35 GT-R departs having achieved an enviable list of track and motorsports accolades.
The extensive list includes five GT500 class and three GT300 class wins in Japan’s SUPER GT Championship, victory in the 2013 Blancpain GT Series Pro-Am class, a Bathurst 12-hour victory in 2015 and five Super Taikyu Japanese endurance racing series victories.
In 2007, a production R35 GT-R set a lap time of seven minutes, 38 seconds at the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany, one of the fastest laps achieved by a production car despite conditions being slightly damp on two corners.
The team were back in early 2008 with a base specification R35 GT-R fitted with the standard Japan-domestic market tyres.
On a dry track, chief test driver Toshio Suzuki bettered their lap time by nine seconds, achieving seven minutes, 29 seconds and cracking the seven and half minute barrier for the first time.
A testament to their commitment to continually evolving and improving the GT-R, a year later they returned to the ‘Ring’ to set an even faster lap time of 7min 26 seconds.
In October 2012, the GT-R had improved its time to seven minutes and 18 seconds.
In November 2013, Nissan engineers and a group of elite drivers made another run.
This time, and ahead of its official reveal, they used a GT-R Nismo equipped with track options that included aerodynamic tuning, weight-reduction measures, and a uniquely tuned suspension system.
With Michael Krumm at the wheel, they managed to record a blistering 7 minutes 8.679 seconds – the R35’s best ever time at the hallowed circuit.
In December 2019, a team including driver Tsugio Matsuda assembled at Tsukuba circuit in Japan, with a goal of breaking the track’s production car lap record using a model year 2020 GT-R Nismo.
The team accomplished their goal, with a record-breaking lap time of 59.361 seconds, beating the previous production car record for the track.
To put this in perspective, a 0.3 second reduction is equal to 10 meters in distance, meaning the team crossed the line a little more than two car lengths faster than the previous record holder.
Not satisfied, they returned in January 2024 with a model year 2024 GT-R Nismo and with Matsuda back at the wheel, broke their own record, shaving off 283 tenths of a second to achieve 59.078 seconds.
In 2016, the R35 GT-R set the Guinness World Records title for the fastest ever drift. At a special event held at Fujairah International Airport, UAE, a specially tuned MY16 R35 GT-R drifted at 304.96 kph and 30 degrees angle.
