Farewell to Godzilla
The R35 GT-R — a car that shattered expectations, rewrote performance benchmarks, and became a legend in its own right — has reached the end of its production run. After 18 years, Nissan has officially built the final R35 at its Tochigi plant in Japan, closing the chapter on one of the most important performance cars of the modern era.
A Final Midnight Purple Tribute
Since its launch in 2007, the R35 GT-R has stood as a symbol of relentless innovation and unflinching performance. Approximately 48,000 units were produced across nearly two decades. The last car to leave the line? A Premium T-Spec finished in the iconic Midnight Purple, destined for a customer in Japan — a fitting send-off in the model’s homeland.
Evolution Without Compromise
Unlike many cars that receive one or two major facelifts, the R35’s story was one of constant evolution. Each model year saw incremental refinements — more power, sharper control, enhanced comfort, or in the case of the fearsome NISMO variants, race-bred performance.
At the heart of it all sat the VR38DETT twin-turbo V6, paired with the famed ATTESA ET-S all-wheel-drive system. Over time, output grew from the original 353 kW (480 PS) at launch to 419 kW (570 PS) from 2017 onwards. For the NISMO models, GT3 racecar-spec turbochargers and precision-balanced internals pushed things further, unleashing a staggering 441 kW (600 PS).
Each of the 48,000 cars produced carried something special: an engine hand-built by one of Nissan’s legendary Takumi master craftsmen in Yokohama, with each builder’s name immortalized on a plaque fixed to the engine itself.
Motorsports Royalty
On track, the GT-R lived up to its fearsome reputation:
SUPER GT dominance with five GT500 class and three GT300 class wins.
Victory at the 2013 Blancpain GT Pro-Am class.
Bathurst 12 Hour winner (2015).
Five-time champion in Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance series.
It wasn’t just about trophies — it was about proving Godzilla’s DNA in the heat of competition.
Nürburgring Conqueror
The R35’s legend is incomplete without its Nürburgring story. In 2007, it stunned the world with a 7:38 lap — already blistering. By 2008, chief test driver Toshio Suzuki smashed the 7:30 barrier, clocking 7:29 in a base-spec car.
Nissan kept coming back. In 2013, with Michael Krumm at the wheel of a GT-R NISMO equipped with track options, the R35 set its fastest ever lap at 7:08.679 — proof of Nissan’s obsession with constant improvement.
Closer to home, the GT-R NISMO also rewrote records at Tsukuba Circuit, setting a blistering 59.078 seconds in 2024 — still one of the fastest times ever for a road car.
Records Beyond the Track
The R35 even carved its name into the Guinness World Records. In 2016, a specially tuned MY16 GT-R set the record for the fastest drift ever recorded — sliding sideways at 304.96 km/h in the UAE.
A Legacy That Lives On
Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s President and CEO, summed it up:
“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. 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.”
The End of the R35, Not the GT-R
The R35 GT-R departs with its reputation intact: a car that humbled supercars, thrilled owners, and inspired a generation. But this isn’t the end of GT-R. Nissan has already confirmed the badge will live on — reimagined, reinvented, and ready for the future.
Until then, the R35 remains what it has always been: a symbol of Japanese engineering passion, a motorsport warrior, and the people’s supercar that earned the name “Godzilla.
