Why Nissan GT-R owners are asking Ferrari prices

The last examples of Nissan’s Ferrari fighter have rocketed in value at a pace that makes Bitcoin look like a sound financial investment.

Owners of the last Nissan GT-R models to be sold in Australia are asking seven-figure prices for vehicles that cost a quarter of that sum.

Nissan shocked Aussie motoring fans in September, announcing that new side-impact safety requirements meant it was no longer possible to import the twin-turbocharged coupe.

The announcement came too late for prospective owners to order a new car, as Australia’s final GT-R allocation was already locked in.

A spokeswoman for Nissan Australia said about 50 examples of the final 2021 model year GT-Rs made it to Australia.

Nissan GT-R T-Spec examples finished in ‘Millennium Jade’ could prove collectable.

The current-generation GT-R is no longer available.

Nissan says it plans to offer GT-R models in the future, though it cannot say when that will be, or what form the cars will take.

Industry figures show 31 new examples of the car were registered in October.

Some of those cars have already been listed for sale by owners trying to capitalise on the GT-R’s popularity, as well any “fear of missing out” felt by wealthy supercar collectors.

Owners of the run-out Nissan GT-R T-Spec originally sold for $256,700 are asking for $600,000 to $1 million on classifieds website Carsales.com.au.

Some GT-R owners are trying to ‘flip’ their cars for a quick return.

That’s a bigger return than Bitcoin – if they ordered a car early this year.

The cryptocurrency traded for about $38,000 per coin on January 1, roughly doubling to about $81,000 today.

A high-performance GT-R Nismo model originally sold for $378,000 is listed for $1 million.

Standard GT-R models normally priced from $193,800 plus on-road costs start at $525,000 on the second-hand market.

The range-topping Nismo SV could fetch well more than $1 million second hand.

Many Australian car enthusiasts feel an affinity with the GT-R. The model has racked up victories at events such as the Bathurst 1000, Bathurst 12 Hour and Targa Tasmania, and was a mainstay of popular video games such as Gran Turismo.

The model was sold through Nissan’s official dealer network in the early 1990s before returning to showrooms around 2010, and also through low-volume importers sourcing cars from Japan.

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

Classic Nissan GT-R values have exploded at home and abroad in the last year or two, helped by a buoyant prestige car market, the prospect of exporting Skyline models to US collectors, and cashed-up Millennials investing in their dream car.

Skyline GT-R R34 models built after 1999 start around $200,000 on classifieds websites, with limited-edition versions fetching more at auction.

A purple Nissan GT-R sold in the US for $US315,187 ($433,500) in June, before a white GT-R M-Spec nur crossed a Japanese auction block for $US549,000 ($746,000) in July.