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The spotted specimen

Texting behind the wheel, of course we don’t. When we pulled into a parking space to answer a message, we were immediately rewarded with a nice spot. This is a 2011 Nissan GT-R, which has been in the Netherlands since last summer. As far as we can tell, these wheels and spoilers are customization (Nismo style) by the owner and do not belong to a special edition or anything like that. On the other hand, the GT-R has had quite a few versions in its no less than eighteen years of production, so maybe we overlooked one. Most importantly: it looks good on him.

The Nissan GT-R

As such, the Nissan GT-R needs no further introduction. Now that Nissan finally stopped accepting new orders last March and thus production will finally end soon as well, we still put it in the spotlight one more time.

In 2002, production of the last Skyline GT-R stopped. With that, an icon disappeared, but work immediately began on a successor. Back in 2001, Nissan presented the GT-R Concept, which evolved into the GT-R Proto Concept in 2005. In late 2007, that concept finally dried up into a largely unmodified

production version. The car was first introduced in homeland Japan. That was followed by North America in mid-2008, and it was not Europe’s turn until early 2009. Those big differences had to do with the special GT-R service points Nissan had to set up.

Well a GT-R, not a Skyline

It may be more or less the successor, but except for the name and the distinctive four round taillights, there is no direct relationship to the earlier Skylines. Even the current Skyline model line (delivered to us for a while as Infiniti Q50) is completely unrelated to the GT-R. However, the internal chassis code does count from the last Skyline GT-R. In fact, the current GT-R is referred to as the R35.

Result of collaborations

While the GT-R’s design is meant to exude Japanese culture, it is also literally a collaboration between the Japanese, American and European departments of the brand. Japan designed the front, America the rear and Europe got to draw the roofline. Fun fact: the layout of the “multifunction display” in the center console was designed by Polyphony Digital, the creators of the Gran Turismo game series.

Powertrain Nissan GT-R

Each GT-R is equipped with a fully hand-built 3.8-liter V6, which when introduced produced 353 kW (480 hp). By the time it came to Europe in 2009, the output had risen slightly to 357 kW (485 hp). Via a six-speed automatic transmission, drive went to all four wheels. The car reached 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and the top speed was 310 km/h.

Facelifts and special editions

Although the basic Nissan GT-R has remained largely unchanged, the model did undergo several facelifts. A subtle one for model year 2011, a somewhat larger one (including extra engine power) for model year 2017 and another for model year 2023. Meanwhile, more special editions also appeared than we can list here, but one enduring additional version is the GT-R Nismo as an extra sporty variant. As a Track Edition with 441 kW (600 hp), it also ends up being the most powerful and fastest GT-R.

50 years of Nissan GT-R

To mark the 50th anniversary of the GT-R models, another 50th Anniversary Edition and the special limited to 50 units GT-R50 by Italdesign with modified bodywork and a whopping 530 kW (721 hp) appeared in 2019.

Career Nissan GT-R comes to an end

Certainly for a supercar, the Nissan GT-R has had a particularly long production period. If production stops soon, the car will have been in production for no less than eighteen years. Nor is it even due to market demand that production is being halted. It is due to various legislations, however. In recent years, the GT-R already disappeared from more and more markets because the model could no longer meet local approval requirements for new cars. Either in terms of safety systems, or noise levels or emission requirements. As of late last year, the GT-R was therefore only available in Japan, but even there it is now over and out.

Although nothing is formally known about it yet, it seems that Nissan does make work of a worthy successor….