GT-R fans, take heart—Nissan promises it’ll be back
The inevitable has arrived—Nissan is saying goodbye to the GT-R R35. After 18 years of production and roughly 48,000 units built since 2007, the final car has rolled off the line in Tochigi: a Midnight Purple T-Spec Premium bound for a customer in Japan.
But this isn’t the end of Godzilla’s story. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa assured fans: “This isn’t goodbye forever. Our goal is for the GT-R nameplate to one day make a return.” He added that while there’s no timeline yet, the GT-R “will evolve and reemerge in the future.”
Other executives have echoed this commitment. At the New York Auto Show, Nissan USA’s product planner Ponz Pandikuthira said the GT-R “will be back, without a doubt,” while VP of Product Strategy Arnaud Charpentier confirmed that work on a successor is already underway.
Hints of what’s next came with the outrageous Hyper Force concept, revealed at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show. The 1,341-hp EV with solid-state batteries and a 200-mph top speed showcased Nissan’s ambitions—but whether the R36 will be fully electric or stick with combustion remains unclear.
For now, Nissan’s focus is survival. The company is deep in a “Re:Nissan” restructuring plan, closing factories, cutting jobs, and consolidating platforms to stabilize its finances. In this climate, a low-volume halo car won’t arrive quickly—but the GT-R’s future is still firmly on the agenda.
The R35 may be gone, but after nearly two decades, it leaves behind a legendary legacy. And one day, Godzilla will roar again.
