When Nissan revealed the R35 GT-R at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, the reaction was... complicated. Half the crowd was blown away. The other half was mourning the Skyline name, which the R35 dropped entirely. It was no longer a Skyline GT-R — just a GT-R. And it shared almost nothing with its predecessors. New engine, new platform, new transmission, new everything.

Five years later, nobody was complaining. The R35 had made its point in the clearest possible way: it was faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo, faster than a Ferrari 599, faster around a track than almost anything you could buy for anywhere near its price. Godzilla had evolved, and the new form was terrifying.

The VR38DETT: A Different Kind of Monster

The R35 ditched the legendary RB26DETT in favour of an all-new 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 — the VR38DETT. This was controversial. People had strong feelings about the inline-six being replaced by a V6. Then the numbers came out and the arguments stopped.

Launch spec in 2007 was 480 PS and 588 Nm. By 2024, the base GT-R made 570 PS and 637 Nm through iterative development of the same engine and transmission. The VR38 is built by hand — specifically by a dedicated team of engine builders at Nissan's Yokohama plant, each engine signed by the craftsman who assembled it.

The twin Garrett IHI turbochargers are mounted inside the V of the engine — an unusual setup that reduces turbo lag dramatically by shortening exhaust routing. Spool response is noticeably quicker than the old RB26 setup, and the power delivery is more linear as a result. You still get the turbo rush, but it's less of a cliff and more of a steep ramp.

That Gearbox

The R35 uses a dual-clutch transaxle mounted at the rear — not a conventional gearbox in the front. This is called a transaxle layout and it dramatically improves weight distribution compared to a traditional front-engine/front-gearbox setup. The R35's weight sits almost perfectly balanced at 53/47 front to rear.

The PDK-style dual-clutch makes gear changes in under 150 milliseconds. In Race mode, it's brutally efficient. In Normal mode, it's seamless enough for daily driving. The only criticism is that low-speed manoeuvring can be jerky — the dual-clutch doesn't like crawling in traffic, which is a universal dual-clutch complaint.

The Nürburgring Story Continues

Nissan understood the power of the Nürburgring better than almost any other manufacturer. Every significant GT-R variant has been sent to the Ring for a timed lap, and the R35 has progressively destroyed its own records over the years.

2008 base spec: 7:38.54. Then in 2009, a modified GT-R SpecV recorded 7:26.7. In 2013, the GT-R NISMO package recorded 7:08.679 — at the time making it the fastest production car around the Nordschleife. Nissan kept pushing. The GT-R GT3 race car lapped in under 6:50.

These times aren't marketing. They're real, verified, achievable by real drivers. The R35 GT-R is genuinely fast on track, not just in a straight line.

NISMO: The Purist's R35

If the standard R35 is impressive, the NISMO spec is extraordinary. The GT-R NISMO gets a hand-built version of the VR38DETT with revised turbos, larger intercoolers, titanium exhaust, and 600 PS at the crank. The suspension is fully adjustable with Bilstein DampTronic coilovers. The aero package generates genuine downforce — not just for looks.

NISMO production numbers are very limited each year. These are not the car to buy if you want to daily drive it — ride quality is genuinely stiff. But as a focused performance machine, nothing at the price comes close.

Ownership Reality

The R35 GT-R is unusual in the JDM world in that it's genuinely a car you can daily drive. The interior quality was initially criticised when the car launched — the plastics weren't up to Porsche standard — but later model years improved significantly. By 2015 onwards, the interior is genuinely nice.

Running costs are the catch. Servicing requires Nissan's own diagnostic software to avoid warranty-voiding. Gearbox oil changes, done at the dealer, aren't cheap. The Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes on higher specs are expensive to replace. If you're buying used, make sure the gearbox and diff have been serviced properly — these are the expensive items if neglected.

The R35 is currently still in limited production — one of the longest-running performance car runs in history. It started in 2007 and Nissan has kept developing it for nearly two decades. When it finally ends, prices will do what R34 prices did. Plan accordingly.