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

The final manufacturing example of Nissan’s iconic Skyline ‘R35’ GT-R, completed in Hour of darkness Crimson, has rolled out of Japan’s Tochigi manufacturing facility in Top payment Edition T-Spec elegant.

The exit formally marks the slay of manufacturing for Nissan’s longstanding excessive-efficiency flagship.

Nissan’s R35 Skyline first debuted in 2007 on the Tokyo Motor Point out, going on sale quickly afterward. Its legendary 18-Twelve months stir saw nearly 48,000 items produced – 37 percent of which sold in Japan.

Australia saw 999 total examples of R35 GT-R sold nationwide, according to FCAI VFACTS recordsdata. ‘Final off the lot’ T-Spec gadgets, which were priced at $256,700 sooner than on-road prices, quietly exited the Ozmarket in 2022, after the mannequin fell hideous of newly imposed ADR85 facet-impact rules.

Nissan President and CEO Ivan Espinosa assured Skyline followers that “this isn’t goodbye without slay”, and that “the GT-R nameplate [will] one day construct a return.” Alternatively, no legitimate liberate date for a next-technology Skyline has been announced.

The R35 GT-R saw several particular editions over its 18-Twelve months lifespan. These incorporated the Sad Edition, Song Edition, Nismo, T-spec, Spec V, 45th Anniversary, and GT-R50.

Most energy output for the R35 GT-R varies from 353kW in long-established elegant, 441kW within the GT-R Nismo, and 530kW within the extremely though-provoking GT-R50.

All R35 Skylines historical the same powertrain: a hand-constructed ‘VR38DETT’ 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6, backed by a Borg Warner six-stir twin-grab automatic and a fancy electronic all-wheel-pressure system.

Each Skyline VR38DETT V6 changed into as soon as hand-constructed by a team of nine workers – acknowledged as Takumi – all over all the vehicle lifespan. The engines took approximately six hours to assemble.

Records held by the Skyline embrace a 2008 victory within the Monumental GT GT500 class, a 2015 get on the Bathurst 12-hour, and 2015 get on the Blancpain Patience Professional 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 novel technology of Skyline has been rumoured for years, though no concrete evidence has been laid and no liberate date has been confirmed.

One imaginable contender is a producing version of the Nissan Hyper Force – a thought car – which changed into as soon as published to the general public on the Tokyo Mobility Point out in 2024.

Study extra: Nissan GT-R T-Spec 2022 overview

Study about now: Nissan GT-R T-Spec 2022 overview – final of the line R35 tested not off target