NISSAN BIDS FAREWELL TO THE MODERN GODZILLA THAT CHANGED THE GAME - THE R35 GT-R.
After 18 years, Nissan has finally shut down production of the R35 GT-R - the longest-living generation of Godzilla and the car that redefined what a Japanese performance machine could be. The very last one, a Midnight Purple Premium edition T-Spec, has rolled off the Tochigi plant line and into the hands of a lucky customer in Japan. Just like that, an era ends. But what about the iconic GT-R nameplate? Don’t panic. Nissan says this is not goodbye forever.
When the R35 GT-R debuted in 2007, it wasn’t just another fast car - it was a nuclear bomb dropped on the supercar world. With its twin-turbo VR38DETT V6, ATTESA ET-S all-wheel drive, and spaceship-like electronics, it made Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Porsches sweat - at a fraction of the price. It was raw, brutal, and devastatingly effective. Over its life, around 48,000 units were built. Each one carried a heart hand-assembled by one of just nine Takumi master craftsmen at Nissan’s Yokohama plant - their signatures forever stamped onto plaques fixed to the engines. Unlike most sports cars that get a big facelift halfway through, the R35 evolved like a living organism. Power crept up from 353 kW at launch to 419 kW in 2017, while the GT-R NISMO versions went full track weapon with GT3 racecar-spec turbos, weight-balanced internals, and a screaming 441 kW peak. Each update sharpened its claws - more power, more grip, more refinement - proving the GT-R wasn’t just built to last, it was built to dominate.
Of course, no GT-R story is complete without Nürburgring bragging rights. The R35 debuted in 2007 with a 7:38 lap on a damp track, then returned in 2008 to crack the 7:29 barrier. By 2013, the GT-R NISMO had pushed down to 7:08.679, cementing its place among the fastest production cars ever to lap the Green Hell. Closer to home, it ripped up Tsukuba Circuit, breaking the one-minute barrier with a blistering 59.078 sec lap in 2024 - a time that left rival brands red-faced. And then there was the outrageous stuff. Like in 2016, when a specially tuned GT-R set a Guinness World Record drift at 304.96 km/h. Only a modern Godzilla could pull that off.
On the racing side, the R35 stacked up victories:
5 GT500 titles in Japan’s SUPER GT
3 GT300 class wins
A Blancpain GT Pro-Am crown in 2013
Bathurst 12 Hour victory in 2015
5 wins in the Super Taikyu endurance series
From the Nürburgring to Bathurst, from Tsukuba to the desert tarmac of Fujairah, the R35 left scorched rubber and stunned rivals. So here we are: 18 years, countless evolutions, endless records, and a global fanbase that worships it. The R35 GT-R is finally parking up. But Nissan’s Ivan Espinosa made it clear - this is not the end of GT-R itself.
“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. All I can ask is patience. The GT-R will evolve and reemerge in the future.”
Whenever that day comes, expectations will be sky-high. Because once you’ve lived with one of these modern Godzillas, nothing else measures up.
Take a look at the YouTube video that the creatives at Nissan put together to bid the iconic Nissan R35 GT-R farewell after a very, very long production run of 18 years: Farewell to a Legend: Celebrating the R35 GT-R legacy | Nissan | Nissan
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