After a glorious 17-year run, Nissan appears set to end production of the R35 GT-R sportscar, having announced the sportscar won’t be on sale in North America from later this year. The JDM icon remains one of the most recognisable machines to come from Japan and has over the years received multiple special editions and upgrades to enhance its performance. North America till now remained one of the last global markets to still offer the R35 GT-R with the model having been pulled from shelves in Australia back in 2021 and from European markets in 2022.
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Nissan USA is celebrating the R35 GT-R’s farewell with two special models – Skyline and Takumi Editions, that were unveiled earlier in the year. The automaker has confirmed the car will be in production in the US until October this year.
The R35 GT-R arrived in global markets in 2007, replacing the R34 Skyline GT-R though unlike its predecessor it was now a standalone model. Carrying over the nickname of ‘Godzilla’ – it was earned by the R32 GT-R following its domination in the touring car races in Japan and Australia – the GT-R was fast, agile and practical. It was also a dream machine for those wanting to extract more performance with tuners boosting the engine to over 1,000 bhp in some cases.
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In its stock setup, the Nissan GT-R draws power from a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine tuned for 565 bhp paired with a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Power goes to all four wheels via All-Wheel Drive.
Over the years, the Nissan GT-R received two major facelifts apart from several timely updates to keep the model relevant amidst changing regulations across markets. The more recent years saw the model see a dip in sales, understandably so, albeit it has aged gracefully.
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The Nissan GT-R Skyline Edition comes exclusively in the Bayside Blue shade with a blue interior. Meanwhile, the GT-R Takumi Edition is based on the T-Spec version and is painted exclusively in Midnight Purple. It comes with carbon-ceramic brakes, gold RAYS forged wheels, and wider front fenders. There’s a gold VIN plate in the engine bay and red writing on the exterior badges to honour the takumi, master craftsmen, who make the GT-R.
There’s no word on what the next GT-R will be. The automaker did showcase the Hyper Force concept that previewed an electrified GT-R but that is unlikely to arrive before the end of the decade. The next era of the GT-R is still some time away.
