- The current GT-R has been in production for 17 years and will be retired globally in 2025.
- Nissan would’ve wanted to keep it for another 17 years.
- Replacement is several years away.
Like everything in life, good things come to an inevitable end. The venerable GT-R has been in production since December 2007, but time is running out for the R35. It’s been retired from most markets and the final car will drive off into the proverbial sunset at some point next year. Nissan is killing Godzilla not because it wants to but because it’s forced to do so.
In an interview with Top Gear magazine, the automaker’s global product boss Pierre Loing explained why the GT-R is living on borrowed time: “It’s been on sale for 17 years and we’d love to make it another 17 years, but the regulator gives us some trouble!” Indeed, the supercar was retired from Europe in July 2021 when new noise regulations were introduced. By that time, it had already been pulled out of the Australian market because it failed to meet a stricter side-impact crash test regulation.
When a car’s generation ends, it usually means a replacement is around the corner. However, that’s sadly not true for the R35. When production ends in 2025, Nissan won’t have another car to fill the void at the Tochigi plant in Japan. Pierre strongly suggested there will be a gap by pointing at the GT-R’s history and how breaks in production have happened before.
Last year’s wild Hyper Force concept hinted at the prospects of an all-electric R36 with solid-state batteries. However, let’s remember how long it took for Nissan to launch the outgoing generation. The original concept premiered in 2001, followed by the closer-to-production GT-R Proto in 2005 and another two years passed until series production commenced.
At the beginning of 2024, Nissan program design director Giovanny Arroba suggested the next GT-R would be launched by 2030. He called the Hyper Force a “daring but tangible dream to achieve by the end of the decade.” When the high-performance coupe eventually returns, it’ll sit alongside the Z, and ideally, a new Silvia.
Earlier this month, Nissan’s VP of global product strategy Ivan Espinosa announced early work has started on a third sports car. However, the rebirth of the Silvia has not been approved for production yet.
Tougher legislation has killed a few performance vehicles this year in Europe. We lost the Toyota GR86, Subaru BRZ, Porsche Boxster, and Cayman due to stricter cybersecurity laws. In addition, Mazda retired the MX-5 Miata’s 2.0-liter engine, leaving roadster enthusiasts only with the smaller 1.5-liter unit.
On a related note, the latest Ford Mustang is down on power by a considerable 52 hp in Europe compared to its American cousin. In addition, the BMW M135, X1 M35i, and X2 M35i are detuned in the EU than in other markets due to stricter emissions regulations. Laws will only get more stringent, so in many cases, it’s now or never to buy that fun car before legislation downgrades it or kills it altogether.