After 17 years, the Nissan GT-R is officially no longer available to order.
After an impressive 17-year run, Nissan has officially closed the order books for the GT-R, marking the end of an era for one of Japan’s most legendary performance cars. According to a statement on Nissan’s Japanese website, the company has received enough orders to fulfill its final planned production run, bringing the R35-generation GT-R’s long and storied journey to a close.
Endearingly referred to as Godzilla, the GT-R has been a mainstay in the performance car world since its debut in 2007. Despite its age, the R35 has remained competitive thanks to continuous updates and improvements by Nissan. Over the years, it has gone toe-to-toe with far newer and more technologically advanced European rivals, proving that sheer engineering prowess can keep a car relevant even as the automotive landscape evolves.
However, as the industry shifts towards electrification, the GT-R has inevitably started to lose its edge. Modern electric vehicles now offer superior performance for less money, delivering instant torque and blistering acceleration figures that even the GT-R struggles to match. While Nissan’s engineers have done an admirable job keeping the R35 fresh, time has finally caught up with Godzilla.
That being said, Nissan deserves praise for keeping its performance halo car alive through thick and thin. While other Japanese automakers struggled to maintain their high-performance lineups consistently, Nissan persevered, ensuring that the GT-R remained a flagship symbol of the brand’s engineering excellence. The fact that it has endured for nearly two decades in a rapidly evolving market is a testament to its brilliance.
With order books now closed, speculation naturally turns to what comes next. Rumors have long suggested that Nissan is working on a successor, potentially incorporating hybrid or fully electric technology to meet modern performance demands. Whether the GT-R nameplate continues or not, the R35’s legacy as an icon of Japanese performance is cemented.
For enthusiasts, this is a bittersweet moment. The GT-R’s departure marks the end of one of the longest-running supercar killers of the modern era. But if history has taught us anything, Godzilla always finds a way to return.
