GT-R

Make
Nissan
Segment
Coupe

While the Nissan Z car has been redesigned to replace the 370Z, we're still waiting for the next-generation Nissan GT-R to arrive. The R35-generation GT-R launched for the 2009 model year and has been largely unchanged apart from an exterior and interior refresh for the 2017 model year. While it refuses to die in most countries, the Nissan GT-R is being retired in Australia after the 2022 model year. To mark the end of its lifecycle, the final batch of around 50 GT-Rs have been imported to Australia including special-edition T-Spec and Nismo SV variants.

As well as marking the end of the current-generation GT-R down under, one of the T-Spec cars is also the last Nissan vehicle in Australia to ever be fitted with a compliance plate or label.

Since 1989, car manufacturers have been fitting compliance plates or labels in Australia, but these will be replaced with online versions from December 2021.

"It's often said that it's best to save your best until last, and that's certainly the case here," said Nissan Australia Managing Director Adam Paterson. "The GT-R is Nissan's most celebrated vehicle, and while this isn't goodbye forever, the T-Spec and Nismo SV models do act as the closing of this chapter of the GT-R story in Australia. The fact that the last version of this generation of Nissan's performance icon will also be the last to wear a label that's been part of the fabric of Australian automotive history for more than 30 years is entirely fitting."

If you were hoping the GT-R's discontinuation means the next-generation model must be around the corner, don't get your hopes up - the GT-R is being killed off in Australia because it doesn't meet new side-impact crash test regulations that came into force this month.

The T-Spec comes with many enticing features to set it apart from the Premium and Premium Luxury trims in Australia. It gets Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, forged gold alloy wheels, a carbon-fiber rear spoiler, and an interior finished in dark green. Power comes from a ferocious 3.8-liter V8 with twin-turbocharging and which produces a mighty 565 horsepower. The current GT-R's lifespan extended for longer than we thought it would, but it'll still be a sad goodbye when it exits other markets too.