Godzilla Retires: Final Nissan GT-R R35 Rolls Off The Production Line

The production of the Nissan GT-R R35 has officially come to an end, with the last unit rolling off the production line in Japan. This marked the end of a production run spanning almost two decades, with around 48,000 units produced and sold worldwide. Japan was the last market to close the order books for the GT-R, with other markets including Europe, North America and Australia having retired the model over the past few years.

Also read: Nissan GT-R R35 Bows Out After 18 Years; Order Books Close In Japan

The final unit, a Premium Edition T-Spec finished in Midnight Purple will now be headed to its owner in Japan.
 

The story of the R35 GT-R started at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, where it was first shown as a concept, with the production model debuting at the same motor show in 2007. Sales in Japan started by late 2007 with the car entering GT500 racing in Japan in 2008. Over the years, Nissan made incremental changes to the GT-R, tweaking handling, suspension, power output and more while also introducing more performance-focused models such as the GT-R Nismo in 2013 and special editions to mark 45 years and 50 years of the GT-R nameplate.

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In its stock setup, the latest Nissan GT-R’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine pushed out 565 bhp - up from the 2007 GT-R’s 473 bhp. The Nismo upped the ante even further with 600 bhp on tap. Power was sent to all four wheels via Nissan’s famed ATESA-ETS all-wheel drive system and a 6-speed automatic gearbox across all model years.

The R35 GT-R also saw success on the track, winning 5 Super GT 500 Series championships, 3 Super GT300 series championships, the 2015 Bathurst 12 hours, and 5 Super Takyu series championships. The sports car also set multiple Nurburgring lap records, posting a time of 7 min 38 seconds in 2007 in damp conditions and improving to 7 min 29 seconds the following year. These times continued to improve till November 2013 when the GT-R Nismo set a time of 7 min 8.679 seconds - the fastest time posted by the R35. A specially tuned R35 also set a Guinness World Record for the world’s fastest drift in 2016 at a speed of 304.96 kmph.

However, while the sun sets on the R35 GT-R, Nissan has confirmed that the iconic nameplate will return sometime in the future. Speaking about the sports car, new Nissan CEO Ivan 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.”