Farewell to a legend: Nissan’s iconic R35 ceases production after 18 years

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The final production example of Nissan’s iconic Skyline ‘R35’ GT-R, finished in Midnight Purple, has rolled out of Japan’s Tochigi manufacturing facility in Premium Edition T-Spec trim. 

The exit officially marks the end of production for Nissan’s longstanding high-performance flagship. 

Nissan’s R35 Skyline first debuted in 2007 at the Tokyo Motor Show, going on sale shortly afterward. Its legendary 18-year run saw nearly 48,000 units produced – 37 percent of which sold in Japan. 

Australia saw 999 total examples of R35 GT-R sold nationwide, according to FCAI VFACTS data. ‘Last off the lot’ T-Spec models, which were priced at $256,700 before on-road costs, quietly exited the Oz market in 2022, after the model fell foul of newly imposed ADR85 side-impact regulations. 

Nissan President and CEO Ivan Espinosa assured Skyline fans that “this isn’t goodbye forever”, and that “the GT-R nameplate [will] one day make a return.” However, no official release date for a next-generation Skyline has been announced. 

The R35 GT-R saw several special editions over its 18-year lifespan. These included the Black Edition, Track Edition, Nismo, T-spec, Spec V, 45th Anniversary, and GT-R50. 

Maximum power output for the R35 GT-R varies from 353kW in standard trim, 441kW in the GT-R Nismo, and 530kW in the highly exclusive GT-R50.

All R35 Skylines used the same powertrain: a hand-built ‘VR38DETT’ 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6, backed by a Borg Warner six-speed dual-clutch automatic and a sophisticated electronic all-wheel-drive system.

Each Skyline VR38DETT V6 was hand-built by a team of nine workers – known as Takumi – across the entire vehicle lifespan. The engines took approximately six hours to assemble.  

Records held by the Skyline include a 2008 victory in the Super GT GT500 class, a 2015 win at the Bathurst 12-hour, and 2015 win at the Blancpain Endurance Pro Driver Championship.

The R35 holds a blistering lap time of 7:29.03 on the German Nordschleife. Driver Toshio Suzuki’s 2009 lap is faster than an F90 BMW M5 CS (7:29.57), Chevrolet C8 Corvette (7:29.90), and Porsche 971 Panamera Turbo (7:29.81).

A new generation of Skyline has been rumoured for years, though no concrete evidence has been laid and no release date has been confirmed. 

One possible contender is a production version of the Nissan Hyper Force – a concept car – which was revealed to the public at the Tokyo Mobility Show in 2024. 

Read more: Nissan GT-R T-Spec 2022 review

Watch now: Nissan GT-R T-Spec 2022 review – last of the line R35 tested on track