The automotive world is going electric while many companies are focused on keeping the lights on. Both are true for Nissan, so it’s not surprising to see that 2025 might be the last for its R35 GT-R sports car. The car hasn’t changed much in its 17 years on sale, but it’s hard not to mourn the death of another iconic gas vehicle.
Japanese auto magazine Mag X reported that Nissan will build just 1,500 units for the final 2025 model year, 300 of which will be reserved for the higher-performance Nismo configuration. There’s no word on how those vehicles will be distributed throughout the world, but the super limited production number means that they will be hard to get and expensive.
Nissan updated the car for the 2024 model year, giving the Nismo model a slight boost in output. The standard car’s twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 retains its 565-horsepower base output, but the Nismo variant’s mill has been boosted to 600 horsepower. Nissan may opt for a special final-year configuration for the car, but there’s nothing official on that front.
The GT-R’s departure marks the end of an era for Japanese car enthusiasts. Even before The Fast and the Furious, the cars were legendary among JDM groups, and classic models’ desirability has made them some of the most expensive cars to import from Japan. The R35 was the first GT-R to be sold in the U.S., and its arrival was a revelation.
The car’s look, performance, and technology were completely alien to American enthusiasts, and while its star has faded a bit over the last almost two decades, it’s still a serious performance car with respectable numbers.
[Image: Nissan]
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