The end of Godzilla – Nissan Skyline GTR R35 FEATURETTE
The inevitable has happened...
Nissan bids a fond farewell to the legendary GT-R. No sooner has it come of age than it must die. After 18 years of production, the last R35 has now rolled off the assembly line in Japan. Around 48,000 units have been built at the Tochigi plant since 2007. The last model is a T-Spec in the Premium Edition in Midnight Purple, which is destined for a customer in Japan. If you see the glass as half full, this is only a temporary farewell. Ivan Espinosa, CEO of Nissan, assures enthusiasts that Godzilla will rise again. Let's hope it will be a gasoline-powered car with all the emotion that a Godzilla truly radiates. Because a GTR as a pure electric car would be the death knell for the heart of Nissan. We shouldn't expect an R36 anytime soon, because Nissan has bigger challenges to overcome at the moment.
The company is trying to recover from its dire financial situation. A halo supercar could help restore its tarnished image, but a low-volume product will not improve the balance sheet. That is why Nissan is preparing to close seven factories and cut 20,000 jobs as part of its βRe:Nissanβ restructuring plan. The company also plans to reduce the complexity of its parts by 70 percent and consolidate its platforms from 13 to just seven. Given these circumstances, it is difficult to imagine that a highly customized niche product like the GT-R will return to the market in the foreseeable future, even though Nissan's management has made it clear that the R36 is still part of its long-term agenda. The GT-R R35 was one of the oldest Japanese cars still in production, but even its long run pales in comparison to the Land Cruiser 70 series. Toyota has been building the J70 since 1984, and 41 years later, the venerable off-road vehicle is still sold in Japan, Australia, and the Middle East. In Europe, the Nissan GT-R had already been discontinued in spring 2022.
Godzilla's acoustic expressions were no longer compatible with European regulations. In Japan and other global markets, the super sports car was allowed to live on. In 2024, there was an aerodynamically optimized body and a new edition of the limited T-Spec variant. The changes for the 2025 model year were much more subtle. Various manufacturers such as Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tarmacworks, MiniGT, Era Car, and others followed suit and brought us models for our collection from the very first year of production of the R35 GTR to the latest facelift modifications. The R35 is and remains one of the most popular models in our collection, whether it's Majorette with opening doors, Era Car (where you could open the hood as well as the doors), or the highly sought-after MiniGT models as LBWK Libertywalk. Incidentally, these models also marked the launch of MiniGT.
Monster on the Streets and on Track:
The R35 GTR achieved success on racetracks such as Bathurst and in the Japanese Super GT, and burned numbers into the asphalt at the NΓΌrburgring like inscriptions. In 2007, Godzilla conquered the Nordschleife in 7:38 minutes, and in 2013, the Nismo version was even half a minute faster on the big lap. In 2016, the GT-R set a Guinness World Record for the fastest drift at around 305 km/h with a 30-degree drift angle. In Japan, the GT-R was offered at base prices ranging from the equivalent of around $100,000 to $220,000, plus taxes and registration fees. With the Nissan GT-R, the Japanese launched an attack on the supercar ranks. The comparatively inconspicuous coupΓ© body concealed a wealth of technology: the twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 in the Nissan GT-R develops 486 hp. A six-speed dual-clutch transmission in transaxle design transfers the drive torque to all four wheels. Later model series then delivered up to 570 and 600 hp. And were there any alternatives in this category that could compete in terms of price and performance? It's hard to say. The closest contenders would be the German models in the form of the Audi R8, Porsche 911 Turbo, or the British Jaguar F-Type. But this just goes to show that the R35 GTR was simply incomparable in its class!
Whether it's a 1000 hp monster among tuning fans, LBWK wide body among Libertywalk enthusiasts, or a movie hero from Fast and Furious and well-known in Gran Turismo games: the R35 GTR has burned itself into the hearts of many car lovers like no other Japanese sports car before it. Almost every Hot Wheels collector or model car fan has at least one R35 GTR at home β and hopefully, after this final production stop, they will appreciate what a treasure the Japanese have left us with the R35.
R35 GTR and the passion for collecting:
We have many wonderful memories associated with the R35 GTR in our collecting career. These include the first Hot Wheels models of the white 2009 First Edition R35 GTR as a Mainliner, followed by other color variants and Speedmachines, which were the hot items from Hot Wheels at the time. Then we had our first experiences with MiniGT. The Libertywalk models of the R35 GTR were very popular. Majorette also contributed its models, and so it went on and on until several hundred R35 GTR models found their way to us. The facelift certainly did the model good, even though we think the basic design has hardly aged and perfectly showcases the GTR line. Everyone is familiar with its Fast and Furious predecessor, the Nissan Skyline GTR R34 which brings us to one truly important final conclusion: The R35 was marketed under the GTR badge and does not have Skyline in its name, unlike all its predecessors, one thing that many people haven't noticed.
GTR, Skyline, whatever... We thoroughly enjoyed growing up together with the era of the Nissan R35 GTR!
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