Farewelling Nissan’s legendary GT-R

This beast turned the world of high-end sports cars on its head. Now it’s tipped to be a $1 million-plus collectable snapped up by wealthy enthusiasts.

David McCowen

3 min read

January 6, 2022 - 1:00PM

They say you should never meet your heroes. Saying goodbye is even harder.

The iridescent blue titanium exhaust of Australia’s last Nissan GT-R ticks and crackles in pit lane after a final assault at Sandown Raceway.

I take a moment to soak in the surroundings – the smell of hot brakes and tyres and the shimmering heat haze pouring from arrow-shaped bonnet vents.

The Nissan GT-R feels at home on track.

My lap data is displayed on digital gauges that were created by the development team for the best-selling PlayStation video game, Gran Turismo.

There are close ties between PlayStation and Nissan’s supercar. Video games introduced a generation of enthusiasts to the world of performance cars, and Nissan gave gamers a chance to make the leap from competing online to contesting top-class races in the real world.

Gamers beat the odds – along with supercars built by Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and Aston Martin – to help the GT-R win the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2015.

‘Millennium Jade’ green paint is exclusive to the final models.

Victory at the 12 Hour capped off an amazing run in Australian motorsport for the GT-R, fondly referred to as Godzilla. It’s the only car to secure both the 12 Hour and the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama, the latter made possible by a small production run of Australian-specific “R32” models required for racing homologation in 1991.

Nissan's modern GT-R echoed the Bathurst success of the original.

It feels right, then, that the final GT-R is finished in green and gold. The modern “R35” variant first captured the imagination of car lovers in 2007, promising superior performance to Porsche’s 911 Turbo for about half the money.

Millions watched as Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear test finished in an ambulance when the GT-R’s otherworldly grip did a number on his neck. Then “The Stig” laid down a lap besting many mid-engine exotics and reinforcing Nissan’s claims.

The GT-R features in racing games such as Gran Turismo.

Though it represents the oldest supercar on sale today, this is still a desirable and valuable machine.

It’s officially listed for $256,700 plus on-road costs, but owners lucky enough to secure the rare and sold-out Nissan GT-R T-Spec are asking for seven-figure sums in the classifieds.

That’s because sales of the GT-R were cut short by government red tape, robbing collectors of the chance to order one of the final examples.

Painted in “millennium jade” with bronze rims over a green leather interior with gold stitching, this GT-R T-Spec looks like something an Aussie Olympian might wear at an opening ceremony.

Green leather features inside the Nissan GT-R T-Spec.

Peer closer and you’ll find those 20-inch alloys – forged by Japanese motorsport specialists Rays – house oversized Brembo carbon ceramic brakes and are wrapped in super-sticky Dunlop track tyres.

The rear spoiler is handmade from carbon fibre, the Bilstein suspension carefully retuned.

It grunts to life with a purposeful growl at the prod of a starter button, and there’s a distant clunk like a superbike going into gear when you pop the automatic transmission selector into drive.

Gold wheels and enormous ceramic brakes are part of the deal.

Clunky around town, the big rear-mounted gearbox comes into its own on track as the GT-R snaps through the gears with a pronounced crack from the exhaust.

It’s just as good on the way into corners, dispatching downshifts with a triumphant flare of revs before you tip in and get on the gas.

Nissan’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 isn’t the most tuneful motor on a lottery-winners’ list, but there’s no arguing against the effectiveness of its 419kW and 632Nm.

Titanium exhaust tips look – and sound – special.

The GT-R sends torque to the rear wheels by default, shunting drive forward for all-wheel traction when deemed necessary by its computer. The combination makes light work of the big coupe’s weight, shortening straights like a true exotic.

It’s a unique experience combining software-powered drive and shock absorber systems with meaty, analog-feeling steering, imperious brakes and surprisingly soft springs.

Pitching and rolling to demand maximum purchase from its tyres, the Nissan’s soft and high-mounted seat isolates you from the physics experiment happening at the road surface.